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RECOLLECTIONS OF A 
RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 



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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



RECOLLECTIONS OF A 
RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

THE SUICIDE OF MONARCHIES 

(WILLIAM II AND NICHOLAS II) . 



BY 

EUGENE DE SCHELKING 

Formerly Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Berlin 



jBeto gotfe 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1918 

±11 right? reservedi 






OOPTEIGHT. 1918 

By the MACMILLAN COMPANY 



Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1918. 



NOV -8 i9l8 

©Cl.A50fi688 



PREFACE 

The preparation of Mr. de Schelking's manuscript 
for publication has been an interesting, if somewhat 
arduous task. When I was able to secure the manu- 
script from the hands of the censor, in Ottawa, I 
discovered that what Mr. de Schelking had meant and 
what the translation said were two different things, 
owing not to the fault of the translator but to the 
extreme difficulty of following the trend of another 
man's mind. In consequence, it was necessary to 
rewrite the whole manuscript and then to go most 
carefully through it with the author, all of which 
took considerable time. But the more familiar I 
became with the manuscript, the more fascinating 
the matter appeared to me. In fact, when the final 
copies were dispatched to the publishers, I quite 
regretted that, for the time being at least, my con- 
nection with the work was over. 

I think any one who reads the book will agree with 
me that it is one of the most fascinating human docu- 
ments which has been published in recent years. 
Through it all there runs the personality of the 
author who throughout his diplomatic and journal- 
istic careers, seems to have had a premonition that 
the weaknesses of the men who by birth or caprice 



vi PREFACE 

held the destinies of the world in their hands, would 
bring about a terrible catastrophe. 

Naturally, as a good Russian, Mr. de Schelking was 
not altogether in favour of the Eussian entente with 
England. The greater part of his diplomatic ca- 
reer was evidently passed during the period when 
Russia and England were constantly clashing in 
the East. It must be admitted that in England for 
years, the instinctive sentiment of the politicians 
and public was to regard Russia as an enemy just 
as France had been regarded as an enemy. Thus 
Russia's natural policy was to oppose England with 
Germany, while remaining friendly with France, al- 
though even her friendship with the latter seems 
to have been tinged with autocratic regret for an 
alliance with a republic. 

Metternich's idea of an alliance of the three Em- 
perors of Austria, Germany and Russia naturally 
made its appeal to an autocratic government, but 
Mr. de Schelking evidently very soon came to the 
conclusion that the archaic anachronism known as 
the House of Habsburg, was a pillar in this structure 
which must inevitably crumble under the storms of 
national passions. 

The gradual federation of the Balkan nations in- 
evitably brought about the resurgence of Polish, 
Czech, and Jugo-Slav aspirations. Intensely Slavic 
in his sentiments and constitutionally democratic in 
his instincts, Mr. de Schelking had no patience with 



PREFACE vii 

the vacillating policies of the statesmen who refused 
to face facts, but took refuge in expediencies. The 
dynastic interests of the Hohenzollerns, Habsburgs, 
and Eomanoffs, sooner or later, would inevitably 
clash with the progressive tendencies of the vari- 
ous European nationalities. Therefore like many 
others, Mr. de Schelking regarded the personal inter- 
ests of statesmen, whose power came through the 
favour of their rulers, as utterly opposed to all prog- 
ress. He does not hide his contempt for those states- 
men who tried to retain power at the expense 
of the interests of the nations over which they ruled. 

No man who has a definite constructive policy 
and who has the gift of analysing the logical results 
of expediency, can avoid arriving at Mr. de Schelk- 
ing 's conclusion, when he realizes the folly of these 
men. Intimately acquainted with the characters and 
personalities of the two principal actors in the Euro- 
pean drama, the Emperors Nicholas II of Russia, and 
William II of Germany, Mr. de Schelking is ruthless 
in exposing their weaknesses. In these pages, men 
make their entrance and their exit from the Euro- 
pean stage, not as the historical characters they have 
hitherto represented in the eyes of their audience, 
but as human beings, with all the weaknesses and 
foibles of ordinary every-day people. 

I know no book which gives a better proof of the 
value of democracy than this one. Not because it 
deals with democratic principles but because it ex- 



viii PREFACE 

poses the weaknesses of autocratic government. 
One of the most fascinating things about the book 
is the manner in which the most trivial affairs be- 
come the direct source of a tragic aftermath. 

L. W. Makovski, 
Vancouver, B. C. 
June, 1918. 



NOTE BY THE AUTHOR 

It is difficult to relate with any degree of clearness 
those events which culminated in the Russian Revo- 
lution and the great tragedy of the European War. 
Hundreds of books have been written about the poli- 
cies of the various governments involved. History 
has dealt with Germany, Russia, France, Italy and 
the Balkan Powers and with their relations to the 
British Empire. Many of these books have been 
written by men intimately connected with the govern- 
ments of what has been known as Continental Eu- 
rope. They have dealt with the dangers of militar- 
ism and from another point of view, with the so- 
called danger of British sea power. To the student 
of history, these books have been admired but never- 
theless they utterly failed to convince the world of 
the inexorable outcome of these policies. 

The tragedy of the European War has been 
ascribed to many different causes. It is, of course, 
the natural outcome of policies deliberately pursued, 
but it will be admitted that behind the policy lies the 
personality of the men in whose hands have lain 
the destinies of nations. In the following pages, I 
have endeavoured to deal with many of these per- 
sonalities as I knew them, more especially with 



X NOTE BY THE AUTHOR 

those men whose personalities guided the destiny of 
Eussia and Germany. Moreover, to thoroughly un- 
derstand matters that may seem absolutely trivial 
but which were of themselves much more important 
than the widely advertised and published treaties 
with which history deals, it is necessary to know 
something of the reign and character of Alexander 
III, the predecessor of Nicholas II, and of Bavaria's 
position in the federation of Germany. 

I have commenced my book, therefore, with a short 
chapter reviewing the reign of Alexander III. After 
his death. Emperor William of Germany became the 
dominating figure around whom the whirlpool swept. 

I have given the name of The Suicide of Monarchies 
to this book because it was the feebleness of Nicholas 

II which brought disaster to Russia and eliminated 
the Romanoffs from that throne, just as the insen- 
sate, egoistical and dynastic policy of William will 
inevitably eliminate the Hohenzollerns from among 
the monarchies of Europe, when the people of Ger- 
many realize the role he has played in deliberately 
plotting the tragedy. 

The manuscript of this volume was originally dic- 
tated by me in French to Mr. Lawrence Mott, corre- 
spondent of the New York Herald in Yokohama, 
Japan, where I, after leaving Petrograd nineteen 
days after the final revolution broke out, stayed for 
about a year before coming to Canada. The book 
was practically re-written in Vancouver, B. C, by 



NOTE BY THE AUTHOR xi 

me in collaboration with Mr. L. W. Makovski of the 
Vancouver Daily Province whose knowledge of the 
European situation which led to the war, proved of 
inestimable value to me, who hereby desire to ac- 
knowledge the assistance I received from both 
Messrs. Mott and Makovski. The latter placed the 
manuscript in the hands of the publishers. 

E. DE SCHELKING. 



BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR 

Mr. E. de Schelking was born in Petrograd in 
1858. His family, which belonged to the ancient 
order of Teutonic knights, migrated into Courland 
from Austria, and there became Polish subjects re- 
ceiving the title of Baron from the King of Poland, 
Sigismund III. When Courland, under Empress 
Anne, Duchess of Courland, became a Russian prov- 
ince during the latter half of the eighteenth century, 
Mr. de Schelking 's family went to Petrograd, re- 
taining the title of Baron in Courland but not taking 
out the necessary papers to make the barony Russian. 

His father was a Russian General — Nicholas 
George Schelking — who distinguished himself in the 
Hungarian Campaign of 1848 and in that of Poland 
in 1864. His mother was a Baroness Fersen, and 
one of her ancestors accompanied Louis XVI of 
France and Queen Marie Antoinette in their flight 
from Varennes. 

Mr. de Schelking finished his studies in the Im- 
perial College of Law at Petrograd and entered the 
Diplomatic Service of his country in 1883, and has 
held the following Diplomatic Posts : 

First Secretarytin Greece, France, Spain and Ger- 



xiv BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR 

many, — both in Berlin and Munich — and he was for 
a time Legation Councillor at The Hague. 

Leaving diplomatic life in 1903 he went into po- 
litical journalism, and was correspondent in Paris 
for the well known Liberal Organ — ;the Rouss, 
and later for the Novoie Vremya. 

After that again he was for six years in the For- 
eign Politics Department of the Birjevia Wiede- 
mosti — the largest of all the papers in the Russian 
capital. While in this position he was officially 
asked on several occasions to undertake delicate mis- 
sions for his government, and in consequence, trav- 
elled a great deal in Europe, but more especially in 
the Balkans. For a time he was the Petrograd Cor- 
respondent for the Paris newspaper — Le Temps. 

During his actual diplomatic career, Mr. de 
Schelking spent fourteen years in Germany, with 
Count Osten-Sacken as his Chief. 

During the last four or five years, Mr. de Schelking 
has been a member of practically all the Slavic So- 
cieties in Russia, and also a Member of their Coun- 
cils. He was especially popular in the Slavophilist 
circles, and the representatives of the Czech peoples 
in Russia honoured him with an Address of Thanks 
for the work that he did toward the liberation of the 
Czechs from the oppression of Austria. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

Preface v 

Note by the Author is 

Biography of the Author xiii 

I Alexander III 1 

Personal Life — Polities Interior and Exterior. 
Greatness of the Empire Beyond Its Confines. 

II Bavaria and Prussia and William II .... 22 
The Regent, King Louis III. A Royal Tragedy. 
Role of Bavaria in the German Empire. 

III William II 44 

Personal Impressions. His Character, Qualities 
and Faults. Husband and Father, Kaiser and 
Politician. 

IV The German Ministers 77 

V Nicholas II . 103 

His Character, The Ex-Emperor as Husband and 
Father. The Empress and Her Influence. 
Rasputin — The Grand Dukes. 

VI Foreign Policy of Nicholas II 128 

Relations with William II of Germany. 

VII The Arrivistes 151 

Russian Diplomats and the Foreign Policy of the 
Russian Empire During the Reign of Nicholas II 

VIII The Whirlpool 185 

Sazonoff's' Policy : Russian Action in the Balkans. 
Bulgaria, Serbia and Roumania. Foreign Influ- 
ence on Russian International Policy. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTEB PAGE 

IX The Fox op the Balkans 218 

Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria. 

X The Eve op Revolution 226 

The Last Foreign Ministers of Nicholas II — Stur- 
mer, Pokrowsky, Vice-Minister Neratoff — The 
Ambassadors. 

XI Genesis 249 

The Origin of the Russian Revolution — The Minis- 
ters, the Clergy, Absence of Justice, Depriva- 
tions of Russian Society. General Dissatisfac- 
tion. 

XII The Deluge 282 

Appendix I 307 

Queen Marie of Roumania. 

Appendix II 315 

The Result of Roumanians Participation in the 
Great War. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS -:j 
The Czar and His Family . \ [ [ ; : FronUspiece V- 



FACING 
PAGE ' 



Count Witte.::".-...^.' .... ' " ' ■ . 1? 
~" --— ca _ - ■^.'^- 
Count-Osten-Sackm' .,,, . . ,".'.,•,■..... 64 

Prince Vori :BAiel"ow . ^-.. ... .'...".•.-,.. 114 -^ 

Herr Von Bethmann-Hollweg [ .' / . ..... 164. 

M. Sazonoff .".".".';.•, 240- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF A 
RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

CHAPTER I 

ALEXANDER m 

Personal Life — Polities Interior and Exterior. Greatness of the 
Empire beyond its Confines 

Emperor Alexander II was assassinated on March 
13th, 1881. His son, Emperor Alexander III, as- 
cended the throne under most tragic circumstances. 
Two paths were open to him, reform or reaction: 
reform would of necessity entail the proclamation 
of a Constitution ; reaction, suppression of the tend- 
ency towards Liberalism encouraged by his father. 

General Count Loris Melikov — the all-powerful 
Minister of the Interior during the last days of the 
reign of Alexander II — ^was credited with being a 
Liberal. Reaction had as its leader and devoted ad- 
herent Monsieur Pobiedonoszeff, the Procurator of 
the Holy Synod, and as its public exponent Monsieur 
Katkoff, the famous Moscow journalist. 

The Emperor finally decided on reaction, and per- 
sisted in following this path for the fourteen years 
of his reign. 

1 



2 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

As I was a young man at the time, and held but 
minor official positions, I will only touch on a few of 
the Sovereign's better-known characteristics, which 
were quite the opposite of those of his successor, 
Nicholas II. I will also endeavour to give a clear 
idea of his foreign policies, which I was able to ob- 
tain from men who were his intimates. 

Alexander III was undoubtedly very populai* 
throughout the nation : among the masses he had the 
reputation of integrity, loyalty, and firmness. The 
people felt sure of him and this won him their uni- 
versal sympathy and understanding. Furthermore, 
he created for Russia an exceptionally brilliant po- 
sition beyond the confines of her own domain, which 
naturally greatly flattered the amour-propre of the 
nation as a whole. Even the turbulent Liberals did 
not escape this benign influence and popular senti- 
ment, thus making the reign of Alexander III one of 
complete political calm. It must be noted, however, 
that the favouritism and Court intrigue so over- 
whelmingly present in the last year of the reign of 
Alexander II were non-existent during the reign of 
his son. 

Alexander III had his favourites ; foremost among 
them were Count Vorontzow-Dachkow, Minister of 
the Imperial Household, General Tcherevine, Prince 
W. Obolensky, and the Cheremetiews. But these in- 
timates of the Sovereign had no political influence 
over him whatsoever. The Emperor dealt ex- 



ALEXANDER III 3 

clusively with his Ministers in matters of state and 
he chose these in person with the greatest of care. 
The Emperor disliked any changes : for this reason 
he had but one Minister of Foreign Affairs — Mr. de 
Giers — whom he inherited from his father ; and only 
one Minister of War — General Vannowsky, who had 
been his Chief of Staff during the Turkish Campaign 
of 1877-78. 

In choosing collaborators he did not rely on old 
family names and traditions. Mr. Pobiedonoszeff, 
Procurator of the Holy Synod, was the son of a poor, 
country priest ; and Mr. Witte — later created a Count 
of the Empire — and world-famous at the age of 
forty-two years — began his official career in the 
modest position of a station-master. If was not 
until he was forty-one that the latter 's integrity and 
acumen attracted Imperial notice and he was placed 
at the head of the financial affairs of the Empire. 
Soon after a political intrigue of doubtful character 
was started against him, and he would have lost both 
his position and his public prestige if it had not been 
for the powerful protection and support of the Em- 
peror, who explained his action by stating that he 
not only felt sure of his Minister but felt certain that 
at heart he had acted solely and to the best of his 
ability for the good of his country. 

Mr. Witte, after the death of his Imperial master, 
preserved the greatest loyalty and pious affection 
for him. In speaking to me of the deceased sov- 



4 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

ereign he always referred to him as ''My Czar." 
But Alexander III could be severe when he deemed 
it necessary. If he discovered that the men whom 
he trusted were not worthy of his confidence and that 
his trust was misplaced, he rid himself of them forth- 
with. This happened in the case of the two power- 
ful dignitaries, Prince Lieven, Minister of Domains, 
and General Kryjanowsky, General Governor of 
Orenburg. Both were deprived of their positions at 
a day's notice, the Emperor having personally found 
out that they were illegitimately trafficking in state 
lands. 

As a husband, Alexander III was a model ; also a 
generous, kind and considerate father. He married 
the Princess Dagmar of Denmark (who had previ- 
ously been the fiancee of his elder brother, who died 
very suddenly at Nice shortly before the wedding). 
Everywhere in the salons of Petrograd it was whis- 
pered that the young Empress was the first woman 
the Emperor had ever known intimately, and this 
was probably quite true, as he was never known to 
have an intrigue of an amorous character all his 
life. He surrounded his wife with the greatest 
tenderness and care, but would not permit her to 
interfere in the slightest way with matters of State. 
Neither would he allow her to interfere with his per- 
sonal habits of living, which were rigidly exact and 
somewhat austere. 
I quote an anecdote that was told me on this mat- 



ALEXANDER III 5 

ter by Count Golenistcheff Kutusoff, Master at the 
Imperial Court: 

The Emperor shared a large double bed with the 
Empress. Being a man of huge physique he was 
the exact opposite of the Empress, who was thin and 
delicate. Owing to his massive weight, the mat- 
tress had sunk on his side of the bed and when he 
was away this made sleeping uncomfortable for the 
Empress. One day, while he was absent on a tour 
of inspection in a distant part of Kussia the Em- 
press could stand the discomfort no longer and sent 
for the Household Minister, Count Kutusoff, and 
asked to have the mattress changed at once. This 
was hurriedly done. The Emperor returned late 
one evening, but when he came to retire for the night 
discovered the new mattress. Notwithstanding the 
hour, and the fact that the Empress had already gone 
to bed, he sent for the Household Minister and or- 
dered him peremptorily to return the discarded bed 
equipment. "You are to take orders from me per- 
sonally," said he, "and no one else." Then turn- 
ing with his delightful smile to the Empress, who 
was in tears, he said: "Since that is thoroughly 
understood, Marie, let us now go to bed!" 

The Empress was passionately fond of dancing 
and, although fetes of all kinds were a nuisance and 
a bore to the Emperor, the Court held many gay 
functions of diverse kinds. But, as Alexander III 
worked twelve hours out of the twenty-four and 



6 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

was therefore very tired after his day's duties, it 
was generally the rule that all Court entertainments 
finished not later than two a. m. Sometimes, how- 
ever, the Empress, carried away by her enthusiasm 
for dancing, would forget the hour, and the Emperor 
then made use of various ways of bringing the func- 
tion to a close. For instance, on the occasion of a 
ball at the Peterhof Palace, where the Imperial 
couple were then in residence, he made use of the 
following unique method. Having finished his game 
of cards he signalled the Empress — who was danc- 
ing — that it was time to finish, but as she was too 
engrossed to notice him he quietly told Prince Obol- 
ensky, who was his favourite A. D. C, to have the 
music stop instrument by instrument. Not until 
only two instrum.ents were left still playing did the 
Empress leave the floor, and the Emperor laughed 
uproariously at his bit of fun. 

The Emperor's tastes were of the very simplest 
kind. At Gatchino, his favourite winter residence 
— a huge palace built by Emperor Paul I — Alexander 
III only used the smallest of all the Imperial apart- 
ments, and the Czarevitch had to be content with 
three very small rooms. The Dowager Queen of 
Greece (an ex-Grand Duchess of Eussia) of whom 
the Emperor was extremely fond, told me that once, 
while visiting the Emperor and Empress there, she 
expressed the desire to be located somewhere near 



ALEXANDER III 7 

her Imperial hosts, and was given a cot in the bath- 
room adjoining the Empress's bedroom! 

As I have previously stated, Alexander III was 
a model father of a family ; he entered with avidity 
into the most trivial details that concerned the edu- 
cation of his children. Especially was the Czare- 
vitch his care and the object of his deepest affection 
and interest. 

After having studied very hard as a boy, Nicholas 
— the Czarevitch — went into the Navy for a course 
of training, and later into the Army ; but his father 
permitted him to rise in rank but very slowly, and 
when Alexander III died the Czarevitch had only 
attained the rank of Colonel. 

When Nicholas reached his majority the Emperor 
sent for the Grand Duke Alexis, the Grand Admiral, 
and a prince notorious for his laxity of morals. To 
him the Emperor said with the utmost composure 
and frankness, ''Alexis, go find some charming 
young woman for Nikki. You understand all about 
these matters. But on no account say a word to my 
wife!" The Grand Duke hastened upon his com- 
mission and his choice fell upon a young dancer, 
Labounskaya by name; Nicholas, however, soon 
changed her for another artiste — this time from the 
Imperial Ballet — the now famous Kchessinskaya, 
whose magnificent residence has but lately been 
seized by the Maximalists; and who became — after 



8 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOIVIAT 

the marriage of Nicholas — the mistress of his uncle, 
the Grand Duke Sergius. 

With regard to the foreign policies of Alexander 
III, his motto was ever the conservation of the 
peace of Europe. The Russian people gave him the 
nickname of ''The Pacifist" because of his well- 
known antipathy to war, and he thoroughly de- 
served the affectionate title, as he so managed his 
foreign affairs that not the smallest thing disturbed 
the diplomatic quiet of his reign. 

His relations with Germany, while not so intimate 
as they had been during the reign of Alexander II, 
were nevertheless absolutely exact and correct, and 
the Alliance of the three Emperors was renewed for 
a term of three years at the Meeting of Skjernewice 
in 1884. In 1887, however, it was not renewed. 
The rapprochement with France was beginning to 
be felt which was later consummated under Nicholas 
II. M. de Giers, Alexander's Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, had but to take the orders of his master, 
who knew exactly what he wished done. 

The Emperor, though friendly to France, was 
rather sceptical as to the possibility of a lasting 
rapprochement between a Monarchy and a Eepublic 
— finding little to justify it. As a fact, the gradual 
''growing together" of Russia and France was ef- 
fected without much aid from the Emperor. Two 
men of obscure birth and of subservient positions 
played very important parts in the Russo-Franco 



ALEXANDER III 9 

relationship, namely M. Ratelikowsky, Chief of the 
Russian Secret Service abroad, and Mr. de Hansen, 
a Dane by birth. 

Ratchkowsky lived in Paris, and was on most 
friendly terms with M. Gustave Flourens — then Min- 
ister of Foreign Affairs in the French Government, 
who was, on his side, an intimate friend of our Am- 
bassador in Paris, Baron Mohrenheim, ex-Minister 
to Copenhagen, at which place Alexander III liked 
to pass what he called his "vacations." 

In the summer of 1886, on one such vacation, the 
Emperor, accompanied amongst others by Rateh- 
kovsky, confided to him the extent of his very 
friendly feelings towards France. Very naturally 
Ratchkowsky — who was an enthusiast on the sub- 
ject — hastened, upon his return to Paris, to inform 
his great friend, M. Flourens, and also Baron de 
Mohrenheim, about this conversation. The two lat- 
ter at once set to work to such good purpose that the 
Emperor consented to visit a French battleship in 
Copenhagen harbour, and by this act laid the first 
stone in the edifice of the future Franco-Russo Alli- 
ance. A curious incident related to me by Baron de 
Mohrenheim is worth recording : 

When the official ceremonials for the reception 
of the Emperor had been concluded, some one in the 
entourage of Alexander III suddenly remembered 
that the French national air had been forgotten! 
But the "Marseillaise" played in the presence of so 



10 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

decided an autocrat as Alexander III, seemed an 
exceedingly tactless thing to attempt. A careful 
question was asked the Sovereign in words as well 
chosen as possible. ''What do you wish me to do 
about it?" the Emperor laughed. ''I am not a suf- 
ficiently good musician to write another national 
air especially for the occasion." In this easy way 
the matter was settled, and the ''Marseillaise" was 
played, the Emperor standing at salute the while. 

Mr. de Hansen had been in Danish diplomatic life 
for some time, and had earned the illwill of Bis- 
marck, who insisted upon his resignation. Hansen 
retired, proceeded to Paris, and, becoming a French 
subject under the name of M. de Hansen, was soon 
made an Honorary Embassy Councillor at the Quai 
d'Orsay, and, as he knew the workings of the Ger- 
man Chancellery at Berlin from the bottom upward, 
became most useful to the French Foreign Office. 
He soon made an intimate friend of Eatchkowsky — 
became his alter ego almost — and through the cour- 
tesy of Baron de Mohrenheim sent several memo- 
randa to Copenhagen which the Danish Court did not 
fail to bring to the attention of the Eussian Em- 
peror. These memoranda were much liked by Alex- 
ander, the proof being that an annuity of 12,000 
roubles was granted to M. de Hansen from the Em- 
peror's privy purse. 

At the proclamation of the Eusso-Franco Alliance, 
Nicholas II did not forget the aged Danish diplomat, 



ALEXANDER III 11 

and conferred on him the Grand Cordon of the Or- 
der of Ste. Anne. 

I knew de Hansen very well indeed, and he had a 
most interesting personality. This was during my 
stay in Paris during the years 1905-08. Despite 
his advanced age — he was at least eighty years old 
then — de Hansen had preserved all his great clear- 
ness of mind and lucidity of thought, and worked 
harder than ever at a new political combination — 
his dream being an alliance between Russia, France 
and Germany. His ancient and most mortal enemy, 
the Iron Chancellor, having disappeared from the 
scene, his hatred of Germany had likewise vanished. 

Hansen had great faith in his experience and, fur- 
ther, he did not lack supporters for his ideas, having 
won over such French statesmen as M. de Constans, 
Ambassador to Constantinople, and M. Etienne, the 
Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies. Later, 
however, the occurrences at Tangiers put an end for 
ever to his hopes, and disappointment was the real 
cause of his death. 

Our rapprochement with France notwithstanding, 
our relations with Germany maintained their correct 
character until the death of the German Emperor, 
William I, who, in dying, especially recommended his 
grandson, William II, to continue these relations as 
they then existed. 

In this connection an mteresting incident was told 
me by a secular witness at the deathbed of the Ger- 



12 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

man Emperor. His son, Frederick, the Emperor 
to be, was away at San Remo and was unable to re- 
turn in time, so Prince William stood in his father's 
place at his grandfather's bedside. The aged Em- 
peror had lost his power of vision and spoke earn- 
estly to Prince William, believing he was the Crown 
Prince Frederick. He said several times, "Fritz, 
my son, above all things keep on good terms with 
Russia." 

As soon as he had ascended the throne in 1888 
William II began his visits to allied and friendly 
courts, and came to Petrograd first, notwithstanding 
the very intimate relations between the Hohenzollern 
and Habsburg Empires. 

At the Russian Court William II was gushing and 
almost servile, while Alexander, on the contrary, 
was cold and very reserved, never overstepping the 
line of demarcation required by strictly formal eti- 
quette. This was because the young Emperor had 
ever been most decidedly distasteful and antagonistic 
to him. Admiral Lomen, in charge of the Imperial 
Pavilion where the meeting of the two Emperors was 
held, told me of this incident : 

When the German Squadron arrived off Cron- 
stadt, William expected to receive the Russian Sov- 
ereign on board his yacht; but Alexander was also 
in his yacht, and carefully watched the evolutions of 
the German ships through his glasses. .By him on 
the bridge stood the Grand Duke Alexis, and Ad- 




COUNT WITTE 



ALEXANDER III 13 

miral Lomen. **Well," said Alexander, turning to 
the Admiral, * ' why does he not make a move ? " * ' He 
seems to await your Majesty," answered the Ad- 
miral. ''He will have to wait a long time, then, 
Alexis, you go over there and bring the little German 
to me." The Emperor's orders were promptly exe- 
cuted, and William II was forced to acquiesce — al- 
though he did so with the worst possible grace and 
arrived on the Kussian Imperial yacht in a regular 
schoolboy's sulks. 

The return visit of the Russian Sovereign to the 
Court of Berlin was delayed for many months, and 
Bismarck's pride and amour-propre were hurt by 
this. In revenge, on the very day that Alexander 
III reached the German capital, an order was given 
to suspend all quotations of Eussian stocks and 
bonds on the German Stock Exchange. Hence it 
was but natural that Alexander was not in the best 
of humours, despite all the attention and pomp with 
which William II surrounded him, and his person- 
ally enthusiastic reception of the Russian monarch. 
But a delicate situation of this kind was an oppor- 
tunity for Bismarck to show his great diplomatic 
skill, and in the conversations that ensued he gained 
every point he wished to make ! Alexander received 
him at our Embassy in Berlin, and the interview 
lasted for more than an hour. At the beginning of 
this interview (so Count Chouvaloff, then our diplo- 
matic representative in Berlin, told me afterwards) 



14 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

matters began very badly. Our Sovereign did not 
attempt to disguise his ill humour, and broke a silver 
match stand between his fingers. But little by little 
he succumbed to the charm of his famous and clever 
adversary and when saying "Au revoir" to Prince 
Bismarck he gave him his hand, saying: ''You have 
convinced me and I believe you. But can you guar- 
antee that the Berlin Cabinet will not have a sudden 
change of heart and that I shall not be left in the 
dark as to any alterations in conditions?" "Sire," 
Bismarck answered gravely, '4n order that this 
should come to pass, I should have to be in another 
world. ' ' 

At the gala dinner afterwards Alexander lifted 
his glass to the health of the Chancellor of the Ger- 
man Empire, who beamed with delight, having come 
off victorious in a delicate and near-dangerous strug- 
gle of wits, and also having triumphed over his 
enemies who accused him of gambling for his own 
profit with immensely vital political and diplomatic 
questions which existed between Germany and Rus- 
sia. 

After the fall of Bismarck the two Emperors main- 
tained mutual relations of sentiment and respect, 
notwithstanding the terror with which Alexander 
inspired the young German Emperor. The political 
world of Russia, however, had implicit faith in the 
well-known pacifist ideals of their monarch and the 
conviction rapidly gained ground that the Franco- 



ALEXANDER III 15 

Eussian Rapprochement, far from being a danger 
to the peace of Europe, would act as a restraint on 
France should she evince a desire to create dissen- 
sion. 

Our relationship with Great Britain suffered a 
severe strain in 1885. The Afghans became ob- 
streperous and threatened our frontiers in Central 
Asia. General Komaroff, who commanded our 
forces in Turkestan, put them to flight, but in fol- 
lowing up his advantage he crossed the Afghan 
frontier and the British Government became greatly 
excited. An exchange of diplomatic notes followed 
and the language of the British Foreign Office be- 
came more and more abrupt, Lord Salisbury insist- 
ing upon the recall of General Komaroff and his dis- 
charge from our army. The action of the British 
Cabinet was supported by a partial mobilization of 
the fleet, and war was in the air. M. de Giers was 
in a desperate mental condition of excitement and 
worry. The aged statesman had taken as his polit- 
ical device that of the Duchess of Offenbach, "Above 
all things, no scandal in my Castle." Naturally he 
pleaded for a reconciliation, but having no success 
with his sovereign, sent him — as his personal repre- 
sentative — Baron de Tominy, First Councillor in the 
Foreign Office, and one of his chief aides, a man in 
whom he had the utmost confidence. 

The Baron attempted to fulfil his mission, but 
after having used all his arguments in vain the aged 



16 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSL^N DIPLOMAT 

diplomat brought his message to a close with the 
words, ' ' Sire, I have grown white in your diplomatic 
service. It is old age and long experience that 
speaks from my mouth." This did not displease 
the Emperor, who answered kindly: *'I see indeed 
that you have greatly aged, my poor Baron. ' ' And 
instead of disavowing the acts of General Komaroff 
he presented him with a sword of honour! The 
meaning of this gift was well understood in London. 
Steps were immediately taken to avoid the Czar's 
adroitly pointed challenge, the incident closed, and 
Russia had won a significant diplomatic victory. 

In the Balkans Alexander III followed the same 
dignified and firm policy, notwithstanding that these 
were ever the most dangerous of diplomatic grounds. 
He, however, caused the fall of Prince Alexander of 
Bulgaria, because the latter was absolutely deaf to 
his counsels, and would not recognize his successor, 
Prince Ferdinand, who installed himself in Sofia 
against his will. His authority in Europe was so 
great that Germany was forced to resign herself to 
following out his desires in spite of her alliance with 
Austro-Hungary, whose candidate for the monarchy 
of Bulgaria was Prince Ferdinand. 

In the spring of 1894 Alexander III fell ill of in- 
fluenza, which developed into kidney disease shortly 
after. The Court physicians insisted that a com- 
plete change of climate was necessary and for a time 
Corfu was considered as the best place — but the 



ALEXANDER III 17 

Emperor refused to go there. Feeling that he was 
a dying man, he said that he wished ' ' to die at home, ' ' 
and the Court moved to the Crimea, as climatic con- 
ditions were slightly better there. But the disease 
gained rapidly, and on November 2nd Alexander III 
breathed his last. 

Feeling his end approaching, the Emperor Alex- 
ander expressed his desire to see his heir married, 
and, if this were impossible, to know at least that 
he was engaged. There had already been a question, 
more than once, of the marriage of Nicholas. One of 
the daughters of the Duke of Edinburgh was men- 
tioned; also one of the Princesses of Wurtemburg, 
daughter of Princess Vera (previously a Grand 
Duchess of Russia and sister of the Dowager Queen 
of Greece) and, finally. Princess Alice of Hesse- 
Darmstadt. The Grand Duke of Hesse came to 
Peterhof three years before the death of Alexander 
III with his daughter, Alice, but had no success, as 
the Dowager Empress knew the secret history of the 
Hessian Court — in short, she knew the character of 
the parents of Princess Alice. 

The mother of young Princess Alice (Hesse- 
Darmstadt) the Princess Alice of Great Britain, 
daughter of Queen Victoria, had died when her 
daughter was but eleven years of age from the con- 
traction of diphtheria, while nursing her son through 
that illness. She had been a very good woman, but 
unfortunately had a strong leaning towards mysti- 



18 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

cism, and this she doubtless had imparted to her 
daughter — a tendency which was later to be of so 
grave and tragic a portent in the life of the latter. 
Count Osten-Sacken told me, after the wedding of 
Nicholas II and Princess Alice had been finally de- 
cided upon, that he foresaw and prophesied nothing 
good of this union. ''Remember, my friend, these 
words of mine," he said: "Princess Alice will be 
the misfortune and unhappiness of Russia." 

Knowing these things, it seems only natural that 
the Dowager Empress had, in her day, vigorously 
opposed this union; but the young Princess had 
made a strong impression upon Nicholas. Admiral 
Lomen, who accompanied the Imperial heir, (Nicho- 
las), on his voyage to the far east, told me that the 
photograph of Princess Alice, signed by her, always 
stood on Nicholas' bureau beside those of his own 
family. 

Having received orders from his father with re- 
gard to his forthcoming wedding, with carte-blanche 
as to his own freedom of choice in the matter, Nich- 
olas at once went to see his aunt, the Grand Duchess 
Marie of Saxe-Coburg, where Princess Alice hap- 
pened to be staying at the time. Because he was 
most anxious to have Nicholas marry a German and 
not a British Princess, Emperor William of Ger- 
many hurried as fast as he could to Coburg also. 

Very timid by nature, Nicholas could not muster 
up the courage to offer himself to Princess Alice, 



} 



ALEXANDER III 19 

and it was the German Emperor himself who forced 
his hand. When the engagement was finally an- 
nounced formally, the German Emperor, radiant and 
overjoyed with the success of his hopes and plans, 
met the British Military Attache at Darmstadt and 
said to him ''You may congratulate me ! I am very 
much pleased! Nikky has at last proposed. But 
it was hard work to get him to do it, and I had to 
make him drink a whole bottle of champagne to get 
up his courage ! ' ' 

Evidently the German monarch had his plans all 
thought out and rapidly maturing. Knowing the 
weakness of Nicholas' character, he hoped and fully 
expected to wield much influence in Russia through 
the Princess Alice when she became Empress of Rus- 
sia. Having been of so much help in making the 
match, he no doubt felt he was entirely able to rely 
upon the gratitude of Princess Alice. 

The Emperor Alexander III died as he had lived 
— simply and with great dignity — and transacted 
matters of State almost to the very last minute of 
his existence, even signing important documents on 
the morning of his death. His iron will sustained 
him to the end, as it had done all through his life. 
During the latter part of his illness he also suffered 
from an ailment that caused his feet to swell, and he 
could scarcely move about at all. On the day of his 
arrival in the Crimea the following incident occurred 
(told me personally by Doctor Hirsch) : 



20 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

The Czar was slowly getting into his uniform and 
was found doing so by his favourite physician, Dr. 
Hirsch, his intention being personally to meet Prin-. 
cess Alice at the station. ''Sire," exclaimed the 
physician, ''what are you thinking of I" "Let me 
do as I wish," answered the Czar; "I am fulfilling 
my duty as a father, and do you obey the orders of 
your Sovereign. ' ' 

I was at my post in our Legation at Munich when 
Alexander III died; the impression made in both 
Austria-Hungary and Germany was profound, and 
the general opinion, freely expressed, was that the 
world had lost a firm and just friend, and that Eu- 
rope had lost its chief advocate for peace. 

Nicholas inherited a white page in his country's 
political history and an exceedingly healthy condi- 
tion of affairs within his own domains. But, ex- 
ternally, matters did not look so bright. The Habs- 
burg Empire was interfering in the Balkan States 
and creating a situation of continuous unrest. The 
Franco-Eussian Alliance had but just begun; and 
Eusso-Germanic relations were somewhat uncertain. 
At the death of Alexander III, William II made a 
great parade of his poignant (?) grief. He hurried 
in person to our Embassy in Berlin to bear his own 
condolences and sympathy, and attended the funeral 
services in the Embassy Chapel. But his intimates 
very well knew that all this sorrow was cleverly 
feigned. In his heart of hearts the present German 



ALEXANDER III 21 

Emperor was delighted to be rid of a load that 
seriously oppressed him and baulked his pride, 
which was overweening even in those early days of 
his career. Furthermore, he was thoroughly aware 
of the feeble character of Nicholas II, and fervently 
hoped that he (William II) might even use his influ- 
ence over the young Czar to such an extent that it 
would prove possible to rule Eussia from Berlin ! 

Alexander III left his son an empire that was all- 
sufficient to itself within itself, and in excellent con- 
dition — also powerfully influential beyond its bor- 
ders. 

In the twenty years of his reign Nicholas II was to 
destroy absolutely all that his father had so pains- 
takingly secured and to waste his magnificent heri- 
tage ruthlessly. 



CHAPTER II 

BAVAEIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 

The Regent, King Louis III. A Royal Tragedy. Role of 
Bavaria in the German Empire 

In the spring of 1890 I was appointed Second Secre- 
tary of the Russian Imperial Legation at Munich. 
I crossed the Russo-German frontier on the same 
day as newspaper extras announced the fall of Prince 
Bismarck and the appointment as German Chancellor 
of Count von Caprivi. Consequently Bavaria was 
in a turmoil. The young Emperor William was an 
absolutely unknown quantity, and every one realized 
that the Iron Chancellor had been the inspiration 
and motive power of Germany's prosperity and 
power. On every hand people spoke with the great- 
est misgiving of the young Emperor. The Munich 
cafes were positively humming about him. He was 
openly dubbed an ingrate and a fool, and Bismarck's 
name was on every lip. 

Personally speaking, the disgrace of the Imperial 
Chancellor was neither a surprise nor news to me. 
I had been extremely friendly with the social clique 
surrounding Countess Rantzau, Bismarck's daugh- 

22 



BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 23 

ter, and there was much chattering in that clique re- 
garding the dissensions and differences of opinion 
between her father and the monarch. It had been 
therefore quite clear to me that these two men, of 
quite divergent character, although curiously 
enough they had many traits in common, could never 
really agree on anything. Both of them were auto- 
crats par excellence. William II believed himself 
— and still believes himself — directly destined by 
Providence to be the sole guardian not only of Ger- 
many but of the whole world. On the other hand, 
Prince Bismarck, sure of himself and guided by his 
experience, would tolerate no opposition, consider- 
ing the German Emperor as a pupil whom it was 
necessary to teach and to lead, with the help of a 
switch — like a school boy. It was reported that the 
Iron Chancellor sent the Emperor all kinds of state 
papers for his signature, without even taking the 
trouble to inform him previously of their contents 
or consult with him about them. 

A short time before my arrival in Munich, Bis- 
marck went to Abazzia, in Austria, to take part in 
the wedding ceremonies of his son. Count Herbert, 
with the Countess Hoyos. Count Chouvaloff, the 
then Eussian Ambassador to Berlin, a personal 
friend of the Iron Chancellor, was to take part in 
the proceedings as a witness. His position was a 
very delicate one, for he was, at the same time, a 
great favourite with the Emperor. He finally de- 



24 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

cided to take the bull by the horns, and informed 
the Emperor of his invitation to the wedding, asking 
him what he would do were he in his place. Natur- 
ally there was nothing for the Emperor to do but 
to give his permission, though he did so grudgingly. 
For his part, the Ajnbassador did his best to curtail 
his visit to Abazzia, as, knowing the violence of Bis- 
marck's temper, he feared an outburst. What the 
Count feared happened. Interviewed at Abazzia 
by a Viennese journalist, Bismarck told him of his 
pending resignation, and expressed himself in terms 
that left nothing to the imagination. Almost every 
word of the interview was an insult to the dignity of 
the Sovereign, and the Emperor was furious when 
it reached him. Fortunately Chouvaloff had left 
Abazzia before the interview took place. 

In returning to Germany from Austria, Bismarck 
passed through Munich, and stopped for a few days 
with his friend, the well-known Professor Lenbach, 
the famous Bavarian portrait painter. He was tu- 
multuously greeted. Every day thousands of Ba- 
varians made pilgrimages to Villa Lenbach. The 
cheers of the vast crowds seemed never to lessen 
and the Chancellor was forced to appear again and 
again on the balcony outside his window in order to 
satisfy the people. He profited by the occasion and 
made patriotic speeches, carefully avoiding in them 
any direct reference to the young Emperor. The 
Prince Regent of Bavaria and all the members of 



BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 25 

tlie royal family left Munich the day before Bis- 
marck arrived, wishing to avoid the difficulty of being 
between such a Scylla and such a Charybdis. But 
the Prince Regent had slily given a free hand to 
the municipal authorities, and thus Bismarck's re- 
markable reception might well be termed official. 
He was specially escorted to the Town Hall, and 
wrote his name in the Golden Book. 

I well remember comparing the reception for Bis- 
marck with that given the Emperor by the citizens 
of Munich on the occasion of his first visit to the 
Bavarian capital in 1892. Naturally the Prince Re- 
gent, surrounded by the royal family, ministers and 
high dignitaries of the court, was at the station. 
Troops were posted along the route of the Imperial 
procession. Eager to see the show, the streets were 
a solid mass of people, but the cheering was very 
feeble, and I remember that when William II left 
Munich shrill whistlings and catcalls were heard on 
all sides. It was learned afterwards that when he 
wrote his name in the Golden Book William added 
the following: ''Sic volo, sic jubeo." The citizens 
of Munich understood the reference. They inter- 
preted it as a direct challenge to their old idol, Bis- 
marck. Moreover, the Emperor was deliberately 
one hour late for the formal reception tendered him 
at the Town Hall, and the reason for his tardiness 
was that he was being photographed in his many 
uniforms, one after the other. The citizens of Mu- 



26 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

nich at that time felt that their pride, their city, and 
Bavaria in general had been insulted. But as every- 
thing in this world changes, the sentiments of the 
Bavarians were no exception to the rule, and when 
socialism made such rapid progress in Prussia, and 
the Emperor lost much of his popularity, it was in 
Bavaria especially that he found it again. 

During my stay there (1890-1896) the Court was 
very quiet. The Prince Kegent was almost an oc- 
togenarian and found no amusement at all in worldly 
pleasures, fetes, and so forth. He was an enthusi- 
astic sportsman, and despite his great age was al- 
ways ready to climb the Bavarian mountains after 
the chamois. To these hunting parties he usually 
invited men of literary and artistic pursuits, also a 
few doctors and surgeons who had made themselves 
famous by their attainments. He always rose at 
five in the morning, dined at four in the afternoon, 
and was in bed by 8 p. m. His food was of the 
simplest, as good cooking meant nothing to him. 
He was a great connoisseur of paintings, and after 
having attended to state business always visited the 
studios of painters and sculptors, and constantly 
made purchases there. In this way he got together 
a really fine collection of examples of modern art. 
Nothing gave him greater pleasure than the offer 
of some sort of picture, provided of course that it 
was well executed. Once when the Grand Duke 
Vladimir of Eussia was in Munich the Prince Ee- 



BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 27 

gent told him of his desire to obtain photographs of 
three paintings which were at Tsarskoe Seloe, near 
Petrograd, representing episodes of the visit of Em- 
peror Nicholas I of Eussia to Munich during the 
reign of King Louis I of Bavaria, his father. The 
Grand Duke mentioned this to Nicholas II, who at 
once ordered that the three originals be sent to the 
Prince Regent. I was chosen to convey them to him. 
The Prince Regent was overjoyed. On my arrival at 
the Station his A. D. C. gave me, in the Prince Re- 
gent's name, the Order of the Crown of Bavaria, 
and an invitation to dine at the royal palace that 
night. I was requested to be at the palace half an 
hour before dinner. 

I found the Prince Regent studying the three pic- 
tures I had brought. "I shall never forget the deli- 
cate attention of Emperor Nicholas," he said. **I 
have telegraphed him my most sincere thanks. But 
admittedly, you did the talking necessary to obtain 
them, and that is the reason," he added, in pointing 
to the decoration which I, of course, was wearing, 
"that I wished to give you proof of my recognition 
of your services. ' ' 

From the political point of view the Prince Regent, 
contrary to his predecessor. King Ludwig II, was a 
fervent supporter of the Imperial federation. But 
when Berlin attempted to infringe on Bavarian 
rights he knew how to stand up for them. 

From a religious point of view, although a strong 



28 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Catholic, he proved himself extremely tolerant. His 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count von Crailsheim, 
and his Chief Huntsman, Count Pappenheim, were 
both Protestants. 

At the beginning of the regency the Prince Kegent 
was not popular with the people. They even went 
so far as to accuse him of having forced the abdi- 
cation of Ludwig II, who had been the idol of his 
people. But little by little he gained the affection 
of the masses by his goodness and his extreme sim- 
plicity. Thus when he celebrated his ninetieth 
birthday he was surrounded by the love and friend- 
ship of his people. He died at the age of ninety- 
four, having always maintained not only a simple lu- 
cidity and clearness of mind but a powerful and ro- 
bust body. A year prior to his death he complained 
bitterly to his friends that while out hunting he had 
missed a chamois. '^My sight is beginning to fail 
me," he said sadly. 

His son, who now reigns in Bavaria, under the title 
of Ludwig III, only resembles his father in his 
simplicity of manner. He is a man of very strong 
character, and very definite in his religious convic- 
tions. He once told me that he blessed Heaven every 
day for being born a Catholic. It is therefore not 
at all astonishing that he surrounds himself with 
priests, and has become the revered leader of the Cen- 
tre Party, or Catholics, in Germany. When he was 
Crown Prince he always paraded his exclusively 



BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 29 

Bavarian sentiments. At the coronation of Nicholas 
II at Moscow, at which he was present representing 
his father, he said: "We Bavarians are Allies of 
Prussia, but not her vassals. ' ' But when he became 
Regent, and later King of Bavaria, he even surpassed 
his father in his cult of Imperialism. He married 
an Austrian Arch-duchess, of a Tuscany house. He 
had fifteen children, of whom eleven are still alive. 
Not having a large personal fortune, and his father 
having a very limited Civil List as Regent, he was on 
short commons as far as money was concerned while 
he was heir presumptive. His sons were always in 
need of money. Prince Rupprecht, (the eldest), heir 
to the throne, and the commander of one section of 
the German front in France during the great war, 
did not attempt to hide from me that he was very 
often without twenty marks in his pocket! The 
King is extremely amiable, but a despot to his family. 
He is not popular in Bavaria, but on the other hand 
he is very high in favour with the Emperor. 

His brother. Prince Leopold, who commands the 
German troops today (January, 1918) in Russia, is 
married to the Archduchess Gizela of Austria, 
daughter of the late Emperor Francis Joseph. 
Since his youth he has been devoted to things mili- 
tary and to a military career. Having obtained the 
highest rank he became notorious for his extreme 
cruelty towards his soldiers. When in 1892 the So- 
cialists obtained representation in the Bavarian 



30 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Chamber of Deputies their first interpellation was 
regarding the unhappy and wretched conditions pre- 
vailing in the Bavarian army. Although the name 
of Prince Leopold was not mentioned every one un- 
derstood who was meant. The Prince Regent also 
understood perfectly well to whom the Socialists re- 
ferred, and for some time Prince Leopold had to ef- 
face himself. His notoriety as a cruel disciplinar- 
ian and a desire to flatter the Bavarians made Em- 
peror William offer him this highly important com- 
mand in the European conflict. 

Of the other Bavarian Princes, Prince Ludwig 
Ferdinand, who married Infanta Paz of Spain, and 
whose mother was a Spanish princess, is of some in- 
terest. He is of a somewhat original character, and 
very popular with the masses. He was by profes- 
sion a male midwife, and every day spent hours tak- 
ing care of women in child labour in his private hos- 
pital. Besides this hobby, he is a fine musician, and 
a great admirer of Wagner. At Wagnerian Festi- 
vals in Munich he is always to be seen playing with 
the first violins in the orchestra. 

Another interesting personality among the Ba- 
varian Princes was the Duke Charles Theodore, 
father of the present Queen of the Belgians, who 
was a surgeon oculist, and pupil of the famous Rus- 
sian oculist, Ivanhoff. He personally took care of 
patients in his hospital, assisted by his wife — a very 



BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 31 

beautiful princess of the House of Braganza of Por- 
tugal. 

As is known, the more recent history of Bavaria 
contains some tragic pages. Two of her kings, 
Otto I and Ludwig II, were mad. 

King Otto I was stricken with the disease to which 
he later succumbed during the French campaign of 
'70-71, in which he took part as a lieutenant. Very 
sensitive and refined, it is said the sight of so much 
blood, and the horrors of war, caused the loss of rea- 
son. When I was in Munich King Otto was shut up 
in the castle of Furstenrid, a few kilometres from the 
capital. A small court was attached to his person. 
Half a squadron of the Light Horse bearing his 
name were at once his Guard of Honour and his 
warders. The unhappy Prince had then reached a 
stage of madness akin to bestiality. During the 
early stages of the disease he had moments of lu- 
cidity. When his brother's death was announced 
to him, he asked at once for his gala uniform and his 
decorations, and half opening the door he shouted 
to the crowd, "It is I who am now your king." 

Baron von Redwitz, Grand Master of his court 
told me the following episode. Ordinarily the King 
took his meals alone, but on Saturdays his whole 
court met at table. The King was a great smoker, 
and smoked cigarettes all through his meals. One 
day he was more taciturn and silent than usual, and 



32 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIA'N DIPLOMAT 

did not smoke at alL At dessert Baron von Eed- 
witz, accustomed to smoke at the royal table, asked 
permission of the King to smoke. As the King did 
not answer he took silence for consent and lighted 
his cigar. He was considerably upset when the 
King, addressing himself to the valet de chambre, 
who was standing behind him, exclaimed, "Look at 
Fritzel! That beast smokes in any case." His 
moments of lucidity, already becoming more and 
more rare, completely ceased during the last few 
years of his existence. 

More than once the entourage of the Prince Ee- 
gent advised him to proclaim the truth regarding 
King Otto's condition, and in this way put an end 
to a situation that was so entirely abnormal. The 
Regent, however, always refused to do anything of 
the kind. As has been said, he was accused at one 
time by the people of having forced the abdication 
of Ludwig II, and he did not wish to bear the burden 
of another accusation of the same kind. His son, 
however, was less scrupulous, and accepted the 
Crown offered to him by the representatives of his 
people. 

King Ludwig II, elder brother of Otto I, and his 
predecessor on the throne of Bavaria, was really a re- 
markable sovereign. Unfortunately from his youth 
upward he was abnormal, and ended his days in a 
state of absolute madness. He had been nicknamed 
*'The Virgin King," because he had never been 



iBAV ARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 33 

known to have an amorous intrigne. Having de- 
cided to marry in order to leave descendants, he 
became engaged to his cousin, a Bavarian princess, 
who later married the Duke d'Alengon, and came 
to such a tragic end in the terrible bazaar fire in 
Paris. The day before the wedding, when all the in- 
vitations to the European Courts had been accepted, 
Ludwig II suddenly broke off the marriage, although 
most of his guests, royal and otherwise, had gath- 
ered in Munich, and others were en route. He had 
always avoided the society of women, and the only 
exception that he ever made was in favour of the 
Empress Marie of Russia, wife of Alexander II, for 
whom he entertained a very strong feeling of friend- 
hip. The Grand Duke Vladimir, her son, and 
brother of Alexander III, told me that his mother, 
having been ill, and staying on the Rhine, was or- 
dered by her doctors to go to Italy for her health. 
Her journey would take her through Munich. 
Learning this, Ludwig II begged her to stop over, 
if only for a few hours. The invitation was couched 
in such fervent terms that she could not decline it. 
She, however, asked the King to receive her, if pos- 
sible, in one of his castles, so as to avoid all crowds 
and ceremonies. The King offered her the Chateau 
of Berg, on Lake Starenberg, quite near Munich, 
where he later ended his days in so terribly tragic a 
way. Ludwig II personally attended to the prep- 
arations for the Empress, and to her installation 



34 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

there. All the wonders of the Glypthotheke (fa- 
mous museum of sculptors) were scattered about the 
park surrounding the castle. All the royal furni- 
ture itself was taken to the castle — or enough of it 
to fill all the apartments. The Empress, accom- 
panied by her son, the Grand Duke Vladimir, arrived 
at the Chateau of Berg just before dinner. The 
alleys and roads of the park were lighted like a beau- 
tiful fairyland. After dinner the King suggested a 
trip on the lake in a gilded gondola which was spe- 
cially built from his own design. The entire lake 
was magnificently illuminated by hundreds of 
torches, each one held by a peasant in national cos- 
tume. The peasants were all in boats, and sang 
their native and national songs. The King desired 
the Empress to accompany him alone on the gondola, 
but the Empress, who was afraid, begged the King 
to permit her son, the Grand Duke, to accompany 
them. At her departure the King asked the Em- 
press to give him a rose she wore in her dress. 
Later this rose — all faded and crumpled — was found 
carefully preserved among his most sacred pos- 
sessions. 

The Bavarian sovereign had always avoided peo- 
ple, and during the last days of his life saw abso- 
lutely no one. He was then a maniac, living only 
by night and going to bed by day. He began his day 
at sundown. My chief at Munich — Count Osten- 
[Sacken-^told me the following details of his first 



T BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 35 

A. ■ 

reception by the King. At midnight a gala carriage 
and an escort of honour called for Count Osten- 
Sacken and the legation personnel in order to take 
them to the royal palace. Before this, Count Per- 
glass, Grand Master of Ceremonies of the Court, 
had asked my chief, in the King's name, to make his 
official greeting in German, quite contrary to diplo- 
matic usage, which prescribes the use of the French 
language for this purpose. The Russian minister 
refused categorically, saying that he was not suffi- 
ciently cognizant with the German language. But 
Count Perglass tried again, and Count Osten-Sacken 
perforce had partially to acquiesce. He was deter- 
mined that the official exchange of courtesies should 
take place in French, but that he would speak Ger- 
man in any conversation which would naturally fol- 
low the precise formal language and allocution. The 
palace was lighted from top to bottom. The King 
received the Count in the great Throne Eoom, sur- 
rounded by the high dignitaries of the Crown. All 
of these His Majesty dismissed as soon as the official 
part of the presentation was over. In the conversa- 
tion which followed the monarch showed a surprising 
knowledge of the political life of Europe. As had 
been arranged, the conversation was in German. 
Suddenly the King quoted a French proverb. Count 
Osten-Sacken at once seized the opportunity, and 
from that moment French took the place of German 
in the conversation. Finally the Count asked the 



36 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

King why he had insisted on hearing him massacre 
the German language, especially as the King spoke 
French irreproachably. The King smiled and said : 
"It was not merely a caprice. You see I have not 
spoken to any one for several years. I was sure I 
had not forgotten my native language, but I was not 
so sure of my French." 

As a matter of fact the King never even saw his 
Ministers, who sent in all their reports in writing. 
He lived entirely alone, and in a most fantastic way. 
He protected Wagner, of whose talent he was a 
passionate admirer, but to whose work he listened 
in an absolutely empty and darkened theatre, seated 
far back in the royal box. He liked to apparel him- 
self in Wagnerian costumes, and, dressed as Lohen- 
grin, had himself towed about in a very small boat 
by a swan on the lake belonging to one of the castles. 
It was in this dress that Count Werthern, Minister 
of Prussia to Bavaria, surprised the King one day, 
and dragged from him his consent to the heredity of 
the Hohenzollerns to the Imperial throne of Germany 
— to which he had always been strongly opposed. 
His carriages were the most fantastic creations. 
His sleigh, for instance, was gilded, and the cushions 
were in blue velvet trimmed with ermine. He trav- 
elled by night over the mountains accompanied by 
his body-guard, who carried electric torches. 

There has been much gossip regarding his abdica- 
tion and the last days of his life. I can give an 



BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 37 

authentic and detailed account of the tragedy, as the 
events were told me by witnesses all of whom played 
important parts in the final drama. 

Ludwig II had entirely expended all state moneys 
in the building of his fairy castles and the financial 
backing and support of Wagner. His Ministers had 
not hidden from him the sad state of the Bavarian 
finances, and finally had to refuse him the credits he 
asked for. The King, who by this time had com- 
pletely lost his reason, wrote to Queen Victoria of 
England proposing to exchange the crown of Ba- 
varia for a few million pounds sterling and a desert 
island in some ocean where he could build himself a 
fantastic castle. This letter of his was intercepted, 
and as it proved conclusively the mental condition 
of the unfortunate monarch the members of the royal 
family and the Ministers of State met in council 
under the presidency of Prince Luitpold, the future 
Eegent of Bavaria, and decided to proclaim to the 
people the insanity of the King, and their intention 
of asking him for his abdication, and then to estab- 
lish a Regency over the Kingdom. Two Ministers, 
the Counts Crailsheim and Feilitch, from whom I 
received all these details, were sent to the King to 
acquaint him with the decision of the Crown Council. 
Ludwig II refused categorically to receive them. 
He sent them a small bit of paper addressed to the 
Count Montjelas, leader of his military escort, on 
which was written in his own handwriting an order 



38 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

to put out the eyes of the two Ministers, and to im- 
prison them in one of the subterranean cells of his 
castle. Naturally enough his order was not ex- 
ecuted, and the two gentlemen reached Munich in 
safety. But the news of the demand which was 
made on the King soon spread in the neighbourhood 
of the royal castle. The King was very popular 
amongst the Bavarian mountain folk. These latter 
armed themselves and hastened to the assistance of 
their beloved King. In Munich every one expected 
very serious trouble, and the situation became ex- 
ceedingly difficult. It was then that Dr. Goudden, 
the head of an Institution of Mental Defectives, of- 
fered his services to Prince Luitpold and the Minis- 
ters. He promised to obtain from the King every- 
thing that was required of him, without resorting to 
violence or force, and to remove him to one of the 
palaces near the capital, in order to get him away 
from the mountain people — his friends and pro- 
tectors. The proposition was accepted, and Goud- 
den kept his word. 

When he presented himself to the King, despite all 
his previous orders to the contrary, Ludwig II not 
only received him in a friendly way, but signed his 
abdication at once and permitted himself to be taken 
to Berg Castle on Lake Starenberg, near Munich. 

Dr. Goudden took up his residence there also, and 
during the first few days nothing happened. The 
King seemed to like the doctor 's society. At the end 



BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 39 

of a week, however, the King asked the physician to 
rid him of the surveillance of the police, who were 
posted at intervals about the castle and in the parks. 
These men annoyed him, the King said, on his walks 
abroad. The doctor was imprudent enough to ac- 
cede to the King's request, and the next day two 
bodies — those of the doctor and the King — were 
pulled out of Lake Starenberg. The inquest deter- 
mined that a tremendous struggle must have taken 
place between the two men. The King's chest was 
badly torn by the Doctor's finger nails, and the 
muscles of the Doctor's throat were terribly mangled 
and torn. But it was proved that the King died of 
heart failure. After having strangled his victim, 
Ludwig II had dragged his body into the lake, prob- 
ably to hide all traces of his crime. The water being 
very cold at that time of year — it was the late autumn 
in 1886 — and the King being very stout, and natu- 
rally over-excited by the fight he had just finished in 
so terrible a fashion, his weakened heart could not 
stand the shock of the icy water. 

Ludwig II lay in state as he had lived. The body 
was dressed in the picturesque attire of the Knights 
of St. George, and a rose was placed in his folded 
hands. 

The memory of the King has always remained 
popular in Bavaria. It is difficult to find even the 
smallest village that has not erected a monument of 
some kind to his memory. The masses, as a whole. 



40 EE COLLECTIONS OF A IIUSSLA.N DIPLOMAT 

for one thing, like legends, and the King's life was 
fantastic; but more than this, the Bavarian people, 
not without reason, saw in the person of Ludwig II 
a defender of the rights of Bavaria against Prussia, 
and a heavy curb in the teeth of Hohenzollern ambi- 
tion. 

I was in Bavaria four years after the King's 
death. The Prince Regent was doing everything he 
could to gain the sympathy of the people, but had 
singularly failed in doing so despite four years of 
effort. The ghost of the late King rose between him 
and the Bavarian people. The old Prince knew this 
and suffered much because of it. 

Bavaria is, after Prussia, the largest state in the 
German Federation. But the political life of the 
Empire is almost entirely centred in Berlin. Prus- 
sian intrigue has been crowned with success. Count 
Crailsheim, Bavarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
was merely a docile instrument in the hands of the 
German Chancellor. Of course the Emperor, Wil- 
liam II, has never failed to be extremely polite to the 
Bavarian Court, and carefully avoids anything which 
might tend to a misunderstanding, even of the slight- 
est kind. He well knew the susceptibilities of the 
Bavarian Princes, and has never forgotten the words 
of Prince Ludwig at Moscow — "Bavaria is an ally of 
Prussia, but not a vassal." 

As may be supposed, the foreign legations at 
Munich played a very secondary part as far as the 



BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 41 

politics of the German Empire were concerned. Yet 
the European chancelleries considered the Bavarian 
post as one from which excellent observations could 
be made, and chose men as their representatives 
there with great care. It thus follows that Munich 
became a training school for future Ambassadors. 
For example, of Russian Ministers to Bavaria, Count 
Osten-Sacken and M. Iswolsky became, the former 
Ambassador at Berlin, and the latter Minister of 
Foreign Affairs in Russia. The Ministers of 
France, Comte de Moui, the Marquis de Montebello, 
and Monsieur Barrere, went from Munich as Am- 
bassadors to Petrograd and Rome. The Minister of 
Austria-Hungary, Count Doubsky, was made Ambas- 
sador to Madrid. The Ministers of Prussia, Prince 
Eulenberg and Count Pourtales, became Ambassa- 
dors at Vienna and Petrograd. 

During my stay of six years in Bavaria (1890- 
1806) I was able to obtain many definite impressions 
from which to judge the exact relations between 
Germany and other European powers. I saw, for 
instance, that France was eagerly sought after by 
Germany at that time, and her representatives were 
treated with exceptional courtesy at Munich as well 
as at Berlin. 

German diplomacy very much feared a rap- 
prochement between England and France. As for 
the French alliance with Russia, the cleverness of 
our representatives in Germany eliminated any un- 



42 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

easiness. Both Counts Chouvaloff and Osten-Sacken 
succeeded little by little in instilling into the German 
foreign office the idea that this alliance served as a 
check on France in case of a belligerent attitude on 
her part towards Germany. 

The Bavarian aristocracy, being, as a general rule, 
impoverished, did not receive or entertain much. 
This was however entirely made up for by her liter- 
ary and artistic world, which liked festivities very 
much and entertained accordingly. This artistic 
and literary world was divided into two camps. The 
first — and the minority — partisans of the German 
Emperor, bowed before Prussia ; the second, admir- 
ers of Bismarck, although fearing Berlin, made be- 
lieve to ignore it completely. As for the Bavarian 
peasants they hated and despised the Prussians. 
The greatest insult was to call a man "Pig of a 
Prussian," and they ever referred to the Germans 
as *'Pigs." The explanation for this is simple. 
The Bavarian, in character, is diametrically opposed 
to the Prussian, for where the Bavarian is simple 
and as good natured as a child, the Prussian is proud, 
overbearing and arrogant. It is therefore natural 
that an idea gained ground outside of Germany that 
Prussia might run across an enemy to her political 
conceptions in Bavaria. This idea is entirely er- 
roneous. Imperialism is solidly entrenched in the 
Bavarian mind, and nothing but an absolute defeat 



BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 43 

of Prussia will change the Bavarian belief in Prus- 
sia and Prussian power. 

In order to make the relationship quite clear, I 
can make use of a trivial example. Let us suppose 
that any two people inhabit the same house. They 
have two separate apartments, but share the same 
kitchen with but one cook between them. It is obvi- 
ous that continual quarrels will arise, but if the house 
were to catch fire both inhabitants would do their 
utmost to extinguish it. It is thus with Prussia and 
Bavaria. In 1870^71, during the French campaign, 
the Bavarians contributed greatly to German vic- 
tories, winning especially those of Woerth and 
Bazeilles. In the present great war the Bavarians 
have defended and attacked the most exposed and 
dangerous positions, and fought with an elan which 
Prussia itself has not surpassed. If Prussia is 
finally and completely defeated Bavaria may reassert 
herself and head a great Roman Catholic federation 
in Central Europe. 



CHAPTER III 

WILLIAM II 

Personal Impressions. His Character, Qualities and Faults. 
Husband and Father, Kaiser and Politician 

Empeeor William is a man of an extremely complex 
and difficult nature. In the opinion of some people 
he is a monster in human form — especially since the 
outbreak of the present war^ — the war of his making. 
His admirers, on the other hand, place a halo about 
him. They regard him as a great monarch, passion- 
ately desiring the best for his people, loyal to his 
friends, and even most kind and amiable. These two 
opinions — much exaggerated — are not at all like the 
real man. 

It is necessary to strip William II of Germany of 
his position, and power, and regard him merely as 
a man, to realize his faults and weaknesses, and to 
give him credit for his good qualities, before it is pos- 
sible to paint a true portrait of the man who set the 
world ablaze. I knew him intimately for the six 
years that I was attached to the Russian Embassy 
in Berlin, during which time, I of course, had number- 
less talks with him, many of which were of a confi- 
dential nature. Therefore, I shall portray him as I 

44 



WILLIAM II 45 

found him, and will try and impress on others the 
impression he gave me. 

Above i--ll traits in his character, impulsiveness is 
the most apparent. He suffers from it to such an 
extent that it is a malady. On the impulse of the 
moment, under the influence of his surroundings, he 
can be as easily led towards good as towards evil. 
Also — by an adroit use of his mood or of his imme- 
diate circumstances it is quite easy to change his 
whole point of view. Therefore he cannot be called 
stubborn. The man who wrote in the Golden Book 
at Munich * ' Sic volo — sic jubeo, ' ' when cleverly flat- 
tered and his great amour propre played upon by 
any one who knows his peculiarities and character 
v-tn, can be made to change his decisions — often to 
reverse them completely. 

Count Osten-Sacken, the Eussian Ambassador of 
my day, more than any of the Diplomats in Berlin, 
had the gift of knowing how to talk to him, and also 
how to influence him greatly. An excellent illustra- 
tion of this may be given. The Krupp yard at Kiel 
was going to launch a Kussian battleship, and the 
Emperor William suddenly announced that he would 
attend the ceremony. Consequently our Ambassa- 
dor and his suite had to rush off to Kiel. The Em- 
peror arrived in a very bad humour, owing to the 
fact that the Emperor Nicholas had gone from Petro- 
grad direct to Darmstadt, thus quite pointedly avoid- 
ing an interview which William had earnestly sought. 



46 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Contrary to the latter 's habit, he did not shake hands 
with the staff of our Embassy — with the exception, 
of course, of Count Osten-Sacken. He merely 
greeted the others with a stiff military salute, a very 
irritated and sombre expression, and a look of great 
anger in his eyes, — an aspect — which as a pose — he 
knew very well how to assume. He can always 
''make up" for his parts, and is an excellent actor. 
Behold him then making his entrance to the tent re- 
served for him. After the ceremony he turned to 
our Ambassador and said he would speak very seri- 
ously with him that evening. 

That night a dinner was given by his brother. 
Prince Henry of Prussia, Grand Admiral of the Ger- 
man Fleet. Afterwards William lighted a cigar, 
and invited Count Osten-Sacken to sit beside him. 
At the same time he beckoned to Chancellor von 
Buelow to make one of the group. His conversation 
from the very first was extremely violent in charac- 
ter. The Emperor petulantly complained about the 
way he was treated by Nicholas II, and said he was 
not being properly recognized in Eussia. ''I — who 
am so well disposed towards you," — he exclaimed. 
Then he launched into a bitter tirade of our Minister 
of Foreign Affairs, Count Muravieff, accusing him 
of directing a policy that was contrary to the com- 
mon understanding and relationship between Eussia 
and Germany. Allowing himself to be more and 
more carried away by his own rage, he went so far 



WILLIAM II 47 

as to say that — ''the continuation of such policy on 
Kussia's part would most certainly have the most 
dire results." It was perfectly plain by the things 
he said, to understand he threatened a definite rup- 
ture between us and Germany. 

Prince von Buelow was very ill at ease. Count 
Osten-Sacken, however, maintained his usual sang- 
froid and dignity ; and when William asked him what 
he had to say, he answered with a smile, — "Very 
little. Sire. All that you have said to me, you really 
cannot believe. Still less can you put such threats 
into execution. After all you have as great a need 
of us as we have of you. I will even go so far as to 
say that it is you who need our support the most." 
Count Osten-Sacken then reminded him that the 
great successes of his grandfather — William I — were 
due to the intimate relations which that monarch 
always maintained with the Eussian Empire. He 
also mentioned the political "will" of the old 
Sovereign, and the last words regarding Russia 
William I uttered on his death-bed. Seeing that the 
Emperor was gradually becoming calmer, Count 
Osten-Sacken tried to lead the conversation away 
from the dangerous ground on which the Emperor 
was treading. He told several historic anecdotes, 
which always pleased the Emperor, and finally the 
interview ended in reciprocal joking. William burst 
into fits of laughter at our Ambassador 's stories, and 
his temper disapj)eaxed as mist before the sun I 



48 EE COLLECTIONS OF A KUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

When the party broke up each member of our Em- 
bassy was amiably addressed by the Emperor, and 
he left very much pleased with the entire evening, 
expressing himself as entirely satisfied with his talk 
with Count Osten-Sacken. 

To relate another such incident — William wished 
the Eeichstag to pass a law increasing the effectives 
for military duty. The Party of the Eight had 
shown itself recalcitrant towards this measure, and 
joined itself with the Party of the Extreme Left. 
The Emperor was furious about it. He considered 
the members of the Party of the Eight — who be- 
longed chiefly to the Prussian aristocracy and were 
known as ''the Junkers," — as wax between his fin- 
gers. He promptly eliminated from the Court list 
forty of the highest names in the Prussian aristoc- 
racy, and wanted to make a speech of a most violent 
character at the opening of the Eeichstag. Prince 
von Hohenlohe, then Chancellor of the Empire and 
the Empress' uncle, had done everything he could to 
dissuade the Emperor from making this speech. 
Finally William had promised he would confine him- 
self to reading the Imperial Speech, as prepared by 
the Chancellor. I was present at the opening of the 
Eeichstag. The ceremony was carried through ac- 
cording to custom, in the White Hall of the Eoyal 
Palace in Berlin, as the Emperor never puts his foot 
in the Eeichstag. William ascended the throne, put 
on his helmet and read the speech. I knew from 



WILLIAM II 49 

Prince von Hohenlohe himself wliat the Emperor 
had promised. Imagine then my stupefaction, and 
that of those who knew, when William, having taken 
off his helmet — thus showing that the official opening 
was ended — began a most violent address to the 
members ! I was far from being the only one pres- 
ent in that crowded hall who was astounded. The 
short statured Imperial Chancellor, who was stand- 
ing on the steps of the throne, turned towards Wil- 
liam with an expression of horrified surprise. I 
learnt later from the lips of Prince von Hohenlohe, 
that, on descending from the throne — ^the Emperor 
said to him — ''What would you, Uncle Chlodwig, I 
could not keep it in!" 

The most vitally important political and diplo- 
matic decisions were very often determined in the 
most thoughtless way by the Emperor, owing to a 
sudden and inexplicable impulse of the moment. 
The famous telegram to President Kruger in South 
Africa, and the expedition to China, which gained 
Kiao-Tchao for Germany — were both determined by 
the Emperor personally in this characteristically 
quick way of his. Owing to the assassination of the 
German Minister at Peking, the German Govern- 
ment had, of course, to take severe measures, but the 
German diplomats had previous to that been plan- 
ning what was to be done in the Chinese question. 
Having learned from Admiral Tirpitz, Minister of 
the Imperial Navy, that in his time Prince Bismarck 



50 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

had dreamt of extensive operations in China, and had 
actually in 1868 fixed upon Kiao-Tchao as the neces- 
sary "jumping off" place, William decided that the 
moment was most propitious in which to carry out 
the ideas of the Iron Chancellor. He had no sooner 
jumped to this conclusion than he sent for Prince 
Hohenlohe, and ordered him to obtain all the details 
of the matter. This order was carried out in haste, 
but at the same time, the Chancellor added to the 
official archives on the subject some suggestions of 
his own. These were to the effect that he was afraid 
of serious complications with Eussia if Germany 
undertook any armed intervention in China, because 
Kiao-Tchao was considered as lying within the zone 
of Russian influence and protection. The Emperor 
sent back the hints to Prince Hohenlohe with the 
laconic notation "Ochsen" (Idiots) written on them 
in his own red pencil, and within ten minutes sent a 
personal telegram to Nicholas II, asking him for 
authority to occupy Kiao-Tchao with a squadron as a 
coercive measure, as Russia was the only foreign 
power possessing anchorage and harbour rights for 
men-of-war in those waters. Nicholas received this 
message very late that night, and at once sent for 
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Muravieff, 
who, casual as usual, and quite unaware of the grav- 
ity of the situation and completely ignorant of the 
Russian agreements with China, told his Imperial 
Haster that we had nothing whatsoever to do with 



WILLIAM II 51 

Kiao-Tchao. Nicholas then telegraphed to the Ger- 
man Emperor, as usual in English, — ''Unfortunately 
I can neither authorize you, nor prevent you entering 
Kiao-Tchao bay, for I am this moment informed that 
we have no rights in those waters." When he re- 
ceived this message, the German Emperor hurriedly 
sent for Prince von Hohenlohe, triumphantly showed 
him the message from Nicholas, and telegraphed his 
order to the German squadron in Far Eastern waters 
to seize Kiao-Tchao at once. 

Meanwhile in Petrograd the day following his 
sending of that telegram to William, Nicholas ob- 
tained a report on the matter from Admiral Tirhoff, 
Minister of the Russian Navy, and then showed him 
his telegraphic correspondence with William. The 
Admiral was aghast, for, as a matter of fact, our 
special rights in Kiao-Tchao waters were incontest- 
able owing to the explicit terms of one of our treaties 
with China. An order was hastily dispatched to 
Count Osten-Sacken in Berlin to explain to the Ger- 
man Emperor the mistake that had been inadvert- 
ently made. Our Ambassador did so, but it was in 
vain. The German Emperor, highly elated, said to 
our Ambassador — "I hold Nikky's telegram and I 
have already given my orders. My squadron is by 
now in Kiao-Tchao Bay — it is there and there it shall 
stay. I cannot make myself ridiculous, and I will 
not!" William had won the game which started 
entirely on his own initiative and against the advice 



52 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

of the Chancellor, but as is quite evident, he had 
acted absolutely on the impulse of the moment, with- 
out having carefully thought over the plan or its pos- 
sible consequences. 

His telegram to President Kruger was far less for- 
tunate, but it was sent in exactly the same way, 
and was the result of impulse pure and simple. The 
message was sent without his asking any advice from 
his Ministers. The Boers were greatly encouraged, 
and believed they could obtain support from William, 
which he was quite unable to give them. Thus both 
Russian and British relations with Germany were 
fatally disturbed for a long time by the vanity and 
impulsiveness of the German Emperor. 

His moods were extraordinarily variable, and re- 
sponded to his immediate surroundings with extreme 
rapidity. I remember on one occasion he had asked 
himself to dinner at our Embassy. He had arrived 
to the minute and in exceedingly good humour. Dur- 
ing the meal he told stories, related anecdotes, and 
lifted his glass to each one of us in turn. Suddenly 
his A. D. C. brought him a telegram. William be- 
came very pale, and addressing Count Osten-Sacken, 
said: 

*'I have just received the news of an attempt made 
in Belgium on the life of my Uncle Edward. Fortu- 
nately he was not hurt. ' ' 

(The Emperor's reference to his Uncle Edward 
meant the late King of England.) 



WILLIAM II 53 

All through the rest of the dinner the Emperor 
was depressed and very grave, and all the efforts of 
Count Osten-Sacken to cheer him up were in vain. 
On leaving the table William asked for a telegraphic 
form and pen and ink, and dispatched a message 
to Edward VII. 

It was the custom when the Emperor dined at the 
Embassy to have an entertainment of sorts for him. 
On this occasion I had advised our Ambassador to 
invite a Bavarian comedy artist — Dreher by name, — 
whom the Emperor liked very much. This man, 
costumed as the Prince of Hell, was awaiting the end 
of the dinner in one of the Embassy drawing rooms. 
Count Osten-Sacken was naturally very much em- 
barrassed by this. William did not seem in any 
mood to listen to Dreher 's jokes. When the Em- 
peror had written his telegram, and lighted his cigar, 
the Ambassador after some hesitation decided to 
mention Dreher to him. He said, smiling — ^'Sire, 
there is an exotic prince here who desires the honour 
of being presented to you. ' ' The Emperor, grave as 
ever, with his thoughts elsewhere, answered — ''It 
must be a Caucasian Prince! Have him in!" But 
when Dreher appeared with his fantastic dress and 
false nose, the Emperor shouted — "Ah, it is my 
friend Dreher!" As the Bavarian comedian went 
on with his stories and jokes, many of which were 
distinctly gross in character — a total transformation 
took place in the Emperor. His gloom and ill 



54 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

humour vanished, and Edward VII was completely- 
forgotten ! 

When he left the Embassy William squeezed my 
hand heartily and said — * ' My dear Schelking, I owe 
you especial thanks, for I have learnt that it was at 
your suggestion that Dreher was on hand, and I have 
been royally amused ! ' ' 

This is a small matter, no doubt, but it shows the 
working of William's mind — at one minute deeply 
distressed by a telegram, and probably wondering 
how soon his turn would come to be attacked by an 
assassin, and the next minute cheerfully and enthu- 
siastically enjoying the coarse and even lewd jests 
of a buffoon — all thought of the more deadly and 
serious matter completely forgotten ! 

The following episode is very interesting as it illus- 
trates the instinctive irritation felt by William for 
England. The Emperor had called one morning on 
the British Ambassador, — Sir Frank Lascelles, who 
it is necessary to mention was never up before noon, 
as he worked very late at night. William called at 
eleven in the morning and went straight in to the bed- 
room of the Ambassador. The latter woke up and 
was greatly astonished at seeing the Emperor before 
him. William started a political conversation which 
did not at all please Sir Frank Lascelles, who cour- 
teously contradicted him on certain points. The 
Emperor suddenly lost his temper and shouted at 
the British Ambassador, — **You will never change 



WILLIAM II 55 

my opinion as you are only an Englishman. I am an 
Englishman plus German. This great advantage 
which I possess, you can never get by any means. ' ' 

The Emperor William talks German with a strong 
English accent, and corresponds in English rather 
than in German. All his correspondence with 
Nicholas II was kept up in English. 

Like all Prussians, the Emperor at heart is cruel, 
— one has only to remember for instance his address 
to the German troops which were sent to China. His 
personal orders were — ''Pardon wird nicht gegeben" 
(give no quarter). Yet on other occasions, the Em- 
peror seemed at times to be governed by kindly im- 
pulses. For instance, when on one of his daily 
drives in Berlin, he saw the widow of one of his old 
Professors at Bonn University, — he got out of his 
carriage, rushed up to the old lady, and exclaimed 
excitedly — "You dare to come to Berlin without pay- 
ing me a visit? By Imperial order you will have 
luncheon with me today at the palace ! ' ' 

A compatriot of mine. Countess Kleinmichel, who 
was present at that luncheon, told me that the Em- 
peror paid especial attention to the old lady. He 
searched his memory for events of his days at Bonn, 
which he told with great gusto, turning to the 
Countess and saying: — *'If you only knew the good 
sandwiches she used to give me when I was a stu- 
dent!" To hear the Emperor talk in this way, it 
was incredible to think that the speaker was the 



56 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

same man who had deliberately given the military 
such orders regarding the Chinese, and who, finally 
did not flinch from beginning the greatest and most 
awful war in all history. 

Ajiother characteristic of the German Emperor is 
the conviction of his omnipotence. When he wrote 
at Munich ' ' Sic volo — sic jubeo ' ' — it was not a pose 
of the moment. He expressed in those few words 
his firm conviction about himself. Yet after having 
named Herr von Buelow Secretary of State for 
Foreign Affairs, the Emperor said to Count Osten- 
Sacken that he was happy to have at last succeeded 
in having at the head of his diplomats, a personal 
friend. And when Count Osten-Sacken, expressing 
his astonishment, remarked that he had every oppor- 
tunity of making such an appointment before, Wil- 
liam replied — '' ' Ah ! so you believe, but it was not so 
easy as you think." This from a monarch, whose 
omnipotence is celebrated, is a ridiculous statement. 

In religious matters, the Emperor has faith, but 
only in his own way. His God is above all the God 
of Battles! He believes himself to be the direct 
emissary of God to mankind all over the world. He 
deems himself the intermediary indeed — between 
God and his people, and destined to be the bringer of 
happiness first of all to Prussia, then to Germany 
next, and after that as a natural consequence to the 
whole globe. I have personally seen him on several 
occasions praying at church, and my impression is 



WILLIAM II 57 

that lie prayed fervently and earnestly, and not for a 
pose, as he did almost everything else. In his trav- 
els by land and sea, he always delivered sermons in 
person to the personnel of his entourage. Witnesses 
have told me that the Emperor seemed to officiate on 
these occasions as a Pontiff or Prince of the Church, 
and gave evidence of a great knowledge of the Bible. 
He knew very well how to quote from it in such a 
way as to make it appear that everything he did had 
biblical authority ! 

The Emperor is an Imperialist even in the bosom 
of his family. When the Empress appears at recep- 
tions the Emperor always approaches her and makes 
a deep bow. But it can be assumed that he does not 
do this out of respect for the mother of his children. 
NO ! — He salutes her who has the divine honour of 
sharing his throne, and who acts as an excellent re- 
flector of the divine rays which emanate from him! 

He is an absolute autocrat over his children. His 
only daughter, the Princess Victoria, was an excep- 
tion. For her he had every tenderness and spoilt 
her in every way possible. The education of his sons 
was a very careful one. He himself chose their pro- 
fessors. Once his choice was made, he gave these 
men a free hand with their royal charges. 

Baron von Pritzelvitz, whom I knew intimately at 
Munich, where he was Military Attache of Prussia, 
and later favourite A.D.C. to H.I.M., was nominated 
as chief supervisor of the Crown Prince 's education. 



58 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

He told me that for over a year after his appoint- 
ment the Emperor never said one word regarding 
the Crown Prince, although he had had any number 
of opportunities for so doing. One day, however, 
at a Royal Hunt, Fritzelvitz having drawn a stand 
number next to the Emperor, the latter said to him — 
"You are doubtless astonished that I never speak 
to you of my son ? I am very much pleased with you, 
but if I have not spoken it was in order not to inter- 
fere with the line of education that you were follow- 
ing. I wish that the Crown Prince be above all 
things a Man with his own character. I do not wish 
him to be a copy of William II. When he comes to 
the throne he will see that which I have done- well, 
and also anything that I have done badly, and he 
will then be able to act according to his own best 
ideas and ideals." 

This fine profession of faith did not prevent the 
Emperor, when in due course the Crown Prince be- 
gan to shown signs of "his own character," from 
punishing him severely on many occasions by send- 
ing him to command a regiment at Dantzig, and for- 
bidding him to be seen in Berlin without his espe- 
cial permission. 

The Emperor pretends to love the Arts devotedly. 
He believes himself to be a gifted musician and a 
very good artist with brush and pencil. But his 
love of the Arts is like everything else. Music, 
painting, drama and poetry serve him only in so far 



WILLIAM II 59 

as they can be made useful to advancing his political 
ideas. The famous song "Aegir" was written as 
propaganda for the Imperial German Navy. The 
pictures that he orders represent only the brilliant 
and successful scenes from German history. He 
especially favours chauvinism — or excessive patriot- 
ism, preferring those poems or dramas dealing with 
the glory of Prussia in general and of the Hohen- 
zollern in particular. He ordered an opera to be 
written by Leoncavallo on the subject of Eoland of 
Berlin, an opera by the way, which Leoncavallo could 
never finish. From the Polish painter Baron Kos- 
sak, he ordered a picture representing, and glorify- 
ing the city of Marienburg. He forgot, or seemed 
to forget, that it was especially at Marienburg that 
the Poles had suffered so terribly, and when Baron 
Kossak, furious at the idea, handed in his resigna- 
tion as Artist to the Imperial Court, the Emperor 
still did not understand the faux pas that he had 
made, and treated Kossak as a ''pig and an ingrate." 
In the musical world, he went so far as to correct 
"Weber. When he returned from his voyage to the 
Orient, he personally assisted in the staging of the 
opera "Oberon" at Wiesbaden. The Emperor him- 
self designed the decorations, which were, most of 
them, in execrably bad taste and vulgar, and he re- 
wrote the finale of the Opera, introducing, no one 
knows why — the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to 
sing of the glories of his ancestors. 



60 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

One of the most beautiful alleys in the park at 
Berlin is completely spoilt by a series of monuments, 
each one more hideous than the other, representing 
all the sovereigns of the House of Hohenzollern. 
Finally the Zoological gardens at Berlin (Tier- 
garten) had almost as many statues as trees ! Even 
the inhabitants of Berlin — who have no taste at all 
for the arts — were frightened at the way in which 
the Emperor was defacing their city with his horrible 
and fantastic conceptions of beauty. The Emperor 
did not care. On the contrary, not content with 
** ornamenting" his good city of Berlin he gave New 
York a statue of Frederick the Great, and presented 
Constantinople with a monumental and frightful 
fountain. At Petrograd he built an embassy that 
looked more like a barracks than anything else, and 
he ordered to be planted on the roof two enormous 
Teutons of warlike mien, resting on their swords, 
which were intended to portray the strength of Ger- 
many. At the beginning of the war the people 
pulled these two horrors down and threw them into 
a canal! 

The Emperor pretends to know and to understand 
everything. It must, however, be admitted that he 
is very well versed in most matters, and that his 
memory is prodigious. When I paid my farewell 
visit to him, — having been appointed Councillor to 
The Hague, — he gave me the whole history of Dutch 
music and choral chants. He was in correspondence 



WILLIAM II 61 

with Cunimberti, the famous Italian naval con- 
structor, and confided to him his ideas and plans for 
battleships. The Italian engineer was certain these 
drawings had been made by a German specialist, and 
was most astonished when he was informed that the 
draftsman was the Emperor himself ! 

His family life was an exemplary one, although 
often he is said to have had mistresses. For a time 
Countess Goertz was named as such. She was the 
wife of one of the German nobles of high standing, 
who was a great personal friend of the Emperor's. 
The Count was an amateur sculptor — one of his 
works being in the Tiergarten at Berlin. As far as 
I am concerned I doubt these insinuations. The 
Countess Goertz was exceedingly handsome but suf- 
fered from an incurable disease, and, while the Em- 
peror was very intimate in their household, I do not 
think there was anything more than a platonic 
friendship between her and the Emperor. 

As the Empress had aged greatly and the Emperor 
still conserved his air of youth and youthful vigour — 
the masses ever sought a reason for his apparent 
aloofness to women as far as his passions were con- 
cerned. Then the famous — or rather infamous — 
Eulenberg scandal broke out and to it the Emperor 's 
name was instantly attached. Prince Eulenberg, 
whom I knew very well at Munich, where he was 
Prussian Minister and later Ambassador to Vienna 
— was publicly accused of homo-sexuality. He was 



62 EE COLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

denounced by his Chief Huntsman. The Judicial 
address in the case established details which were 
exceedingly curious. It was learned then that 
Prince Eulenberg was the leader of a society known 
as ''The Knights of the Eound Table." Among the 
members of this Society were men bearing the high- 
est names in the German Empire ; for instance . . . 
both Princes Hohenhau — sons of Field Marshal 
Prince Albert of Prussia, the issue of his morganatic 
marriage ; Baron von Wedell, who had been Attache 
to the Empress Frederick, a Frenchman, M. Lecomte, 
Councillor of the French Embassy in Berlin, and 
many others. It was also learned that the Emperor 
himself — ^who honoured Prince Eulenberg with a 
friendship of exceptional intimacy — very often took 
part in the meetings of this society. All its mem- 
bers were known by nicknames. The Emperor was 
known as *'Cheri." William did not try to hush the 
matter up knowing very well that if judicial proceed- 
ings had not taken place, his name would have been 
even more entangled than it was. Hence the trial 
took place. Prince Eulenberg — ^broken and ill — was 
brought into court on a stretcher. Finally, although 
the enquiry could not be brought to a conclusion as 
it was declared that Prince Eulenberg could not be 
further examined owing to the state of his health, 
the Hohenhau brothers lost their commands in the 
army and were exiled to their country estates; 
Baron von Wedell was also exiled ; and M. Lecomte 



WILLIAM II 63 

was transferred to Persia, where ihe was, for a time, 
the French Minister. 

The whole details of this affair have remained a 
secret, even to the present day. 

Prince Enlenberg, married to a Swedish Countess, 
had had six children by her. Those who knew the 
Countess knew of a certainty that her children were 
fathered by Eulenberg. The Prince had two hob- 
bies — the Emperor and music. His family life was 
most exemplary. Yet the accusations of his Chief 
Huntsman were supposed to be undeniable facts. 
Be that as it may, the whole affair did not advance 
the prestige and popularity of the German Emperor. 

As everything in this world is sooner or later for- 
gotten, the G-erman people gradually let this matter 
drop into oblivion and there it has remained. 

Of all the foreign monarchs, William II esteemed 
above all others Queen Victoria of England and had 
a very deep affection for her. When speaking of 
her to Count Osten-Sacken he said : * ' The greatest 
statesman of Europe today is my grandmother." 

He did not in the least entertain the same senti- 
ments towards Edward VII, as he appreciated full 
well that in the person of the King of England he had 
a very dangerous adversary on the checkerboard of 
the world. 

I have already mentioned the fear with which 
Alexander III of Russia had inspired him and also 
his relations with Nicholas II. 



64 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

He venerated the old Emperor Franz-Joseph of 
Austria-Hungary. 

The murdered Archduke of Austria was not sym- 
pathetic to him in the beginning, but later — for politi- 
cal reasons — he formed ties of intimacy with him. 
It is said — and not without reason — that only a short 
time before the assassination of the Archduke, in an 
interview that he had with him in one of his castles, 
the German Monarch sanctioned the bellicose politics 
of the Habsburg Empire toward Serbia. It is here, 
therefore, that the date of the European War was 
really first decided on. 

In his foreign policy William regarded only one 
nation with an absolutely implacable hatred — Eng- 
land! He deemed this Power everywhere in his 
way, thwarting and blocking him by every road he 
essayed, commercial, colonial and political. All his 
diplomacy was designed to fight this one enemy. He 
swallowed all the troubles Nicholas II made in order 
to have Eussia in the game that he intended to 
play. He always hoped to be able to thrust Rus- 
sia into some serious complication with Great 
Britain. 

Once, for instance ... we Russians were trying 
out a new method of general mobilization of a 
brigade near the Afghan frontier. William rushed 
at once to our Embassy in the hope that this was the 
beginning of a mobilization that would have the grav- 
est results. He assured Count Osten-Sacken that 




COUNT OSTEN-SACKEN 



WILLIAM II 65 

he was even then ready to offer Eussia two army 
corps for an eventual campaign against Great 
Britain in India. 

The Emperor 's feelings towards England dictated 
his policy with France. The ambassadors of the 
French Eepublic were objects of his special atten- 
tions. Every French artist — painter — ^musician — 
or writer — found an exceptionally warm welcome at 
the Court of Berlin. At the opening of the Kiel 
Canal, when French warships were anchored for the 
first time in history side by side with German ships, 
the admiral and officers of the French squadron were 
especially feted. 

Prior to the expedition to China against the 
Boxers, in which France took an equal part, the Em- 
peror was delighted at the order of the President of 
the French Republic — placing the French military 
expedition under German command — that of Count 
von Waldersee. The Emperor cherished the project 
of an Entente between France and Russia directly 
aimed at England. But even in his relations with 
France, his character, impetuous and ever changing 
— ^was a fatal bar. When the Government of the 
French Republic did not fall in with his desires and 
ideas, he forgot his political programme and made 
his western neighbours all kinds of more or less seri- 
ous trouble. He spoiled his own game completely 
after the Russo-Japanese War by provoking the 
Tangiers incident. 



66 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Eussia — the ally of France — had only just 
emerged from a war which had exhausted her 
strength. The Emperor William thought the time 
favourable to blackmail France, who had just con- 
cluded a treaty with England which recognized the 
right of Great Britain in Egypt and renounced her 
exclusive fishing rights in Newfoundland, originally 
granted by the Treaty of Utrecht. In return, the 
British Cabinet recognized the exclusive rights of 
France in Morocco. Although Germany was only 
represented in the Empire of the Scherif by four 
Germans, — the Mannesheim brothers — ^William de- 
manded his share of commerce in Morocco. Impul- 
sively, as usual, he decided to apply for his rights in 
person and went to Tangiers on his yacht — the Ho- 
henzollern — escorted by a light German flotilla of 
armoured cruisers and destroyers. I was in Paris 
at the time and all political circles were very nerv- 
ous. The intervention of Germany in Morocco was 
considered by all as direct provocation to France, 
who was in no way prepared for a war. A serious 
diplomatic reverse very painful to the amour- 
propre of Prance was foreseen. I remember one 
day when I was in the Chamber of Deputies, some 
one interpellated the President of the Council — Mr. 
Eouvier — as to what the whole affair meant. Kou- 
vier, scarlet in the face, and deeply moved, shouted 
very loudly : ' * What do I know of it ! If these pigs 



WILLIAM II 67 

wish it they can enter Champagne as though entering 
butter." 

Suddenly, however, two or three days before the 
disembarking of the Emperor William at Tangiers, 
Edward VII appeared incognito in Paris. Notwith- 
standing the quasi-private nature of his visit, the 
English Monarch naturally received the French 
statesmen and conferred at great length with them. 

In the evening, the President of the Eepublic gave 
him a gala dinner, followed by a reception, to which 
were asked — among others — all the members of the 
Corps Diplomatique in Paris. King Edward held a 
small reception after dinner and I have the details 
of what was said from one of the men who were 
actually present. 

Approaching Prince Eadolin, German Ambassador 
to France, Edward VII commenced a conversation 
with him on inconsequential matters. He asked 
after the health of the Princess Eadolin and dis- 
cussed the delights of Parisian life, etc. . . . Sud- 
denly and brusquely his voice changed and he said 
to the Prince with great intensity of feeling : 

*'My nephew is making a little trip to Tangiers. 
I would not have it happen that European complica- 
tions ensue. And, moreover you know, behind 
France, he will find me. A man warned is worth 
two men." 

I was told that after these few words from King 



68 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Edward, Prince Eadolin appeared stricken by light- 
ning and rushed from the Elysee to notify his master 
of the King's words. 

William refrained most carefully from even put- 
ting his feet ashore on Moroccan soil and received 
the Moroccan authorities on board the Hohenzollern 
in the offing of Tangier harbour. 

The Algiers Conference followed and France 
issued from it without any humiliation whatsoever. 

It may be asked, therefore, whether as William in 
1904 altered his political scheme against France 
solely because of the intervention of Edward VII, 
although at that time Russia was completely ex- 
hausted, the Emperor would have dared to encourage 
the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia, and by 
so doing start the European War, had he known that 
England would join France and Russia? 

It may, however, be as well to add that the sudden 
departure of the German Emperor — owing to his 
diplomatic failure — lost him the few strong adher- 
ents he had. William had shown his hand too soon. 
Thenceforward France fully understood his plotting 
and from that moment suspected all his advances! 
Hence the final appeal to arms was solely the result 
of the German Emperor's over-subtle plotting and 
scheming. 

In his domestic policies William is the authority 
''par excellence" with the powers of an absolute 
autocracy. To the idea of national representation 



WILLIAM II 69 

he is instinctively antipathetic. He does not recog- 
nize the rights of the deputies to have any ideas of 
their own. As has been said, he did not bother with 
the Party of the Eight. He anathematized the So- 
cial Democrats with the sobriquet of: ''Vater- 
land losen Schurken" (rascals without a country). 
When he had to give way to the Eeichstag, and this 
often happened, he was furious and criticized both 
parties bitterly and frankly to his intimates. He 
was almost always in a difficult position — where his 
domestic policies were concerned — in his dual capac- 
ity of King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany. 
As King of Prussia he, normally, should have been 
able to rely on the Agrarians (The Junker Party) 
which party has ever been the support of the Kings 
of Prussia and has supplied the best elements to the 
Prussian armies. They were essentially reaction- 
aries. But as Emperor of Germany, William found 
it very difficult to follow a reactionary policy. The 
German Empire had been created — as Bismarck 
said — by schoolmasters ('^Das Deutches Reich ist 
von Schuhlehrer geschaffen worden"). Its power 
and its extension were principally due to the com- 
mercial and industrial classes. Naturally enough, 
these elements which had established the German 
Empire and greatly contributed to its vast power, 
belonged to the liberal party. William had to 
pursue an agrarian policy, which exasperated the 
Liberals, and yet whenever he appeared to be in 



70 EBCOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

favour of the policy advocated by the Liberals the 
Agrarians promptly set up a wild clamour. This 
situation often placed the Emperor in most embar- 
rassing positions especially when the extension of 
credit, vitally necessary to him for the enlarging of 
his armed forces and especially for his navy, was in 
question. He then had recourse to flattering the 
Liberals and, of course, the capitalists. He also 
made use of wise and cunning propaganda all over 
the country through the press. After having pro- 
claimed the principle: "The future of Germany is 
on the seas," ("Die Zukunft Deutchlands ist auf 
dem Wasser"), he covered the country with a net 
of Naval Societies, ("Flotten Vereine"). He even 
nominated the members and then gave them high 
decorations and procured all the moneys necessary 
for their work under his direct orders. He also 
showered favours on the capitalists, including the 
Jews. Jewish bankers, the "Friedlander," the 
"Furstenberg" and others were his habitual guests 
on the Hohenzollern for his annual voyage of pleas- 
ure to Norwegian waters. He said to Ballin — the 
great shipping magnate: "Ballin, you will yet be 
one of my Ministers !" And when Ballin answered: 
"You forget, Sire, that I am a Jew," the Emperor 
replied quickly ... "I may have need of them" 
("Die kann ich auch brauchen"). 

Desirous of protecting his commerce and being 
unable to follow a frankly commercial policy — thanks 



WILLIAM II 71 

to the Junkers — lie necessarily threw himself into 
his colonial policy with great vigour in order to pro- 
cure new markets for Germany's products and also 
to avoid emigration to the colonies of other nations 
which he always dreaded and which was rapidly 
growing — especially to the United States. 

When his attention was called to the fact that the 
increase of the German element in the United States 
could only have favourable results in influencing 
American politics even as he might dictate, he an- 
nounced: — ''You do not know my Germans. When 
they are in America they drink beer as usual and sing 
'Die Wacht am Rhein.' They have on the walls of 
their houses portraits of my grandfather, of Bis- 
marck and of Moltke. But you will not often find 
my portrait, and in political matters, they have be- 
come thorough Yankees. ' ^ 

As the best opportunities for colonization overseas 
were in British and French hands, he had to be con- 
tent with territory of a secondary class, and to his 
keen disappointment, the German colonies were far 
from prosperous. 

Germany, though very strong commercially, is not 
strong in the art of colonization. Count von Goet- 
zen. Governor of Dar-es-Salam, said to me person- 
ally: "This colony is flooded with officials. In the 
city quantities of well uniformed police may be seen, 
but a few kilometres from Dar-es-Salam, I have met 
leopards and, about a week ago, lions devoured two 



72 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

railway conductors who were on a train standing in a 
siding, at the very gates of the city. Our administra- 
tion is perfect, but we sadly lack workmen. The 
natives prefer to work in the British and Portuguese 
colonies rather than for us." 

It was said in Berlin that the Emperor dreamed at 
one time of buying the Belgian Congo outright, but 
was forced to relinquish this idea in view of the very 
strong Anglo-French opposition. I was present 
when the old King Leopold of Belgium visited the 
German Emperor at Berlin. The Emperor, — who 
disliked Leopold in his heart of hearts, because of his 
penchant for mistresses and his all-round doubtful 
morality — treated him nevertheless with exceptional 
courtesy and paid him many attentions. 

The German Emperor is a military monarch from 
the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. He 
adores all soldiery and military matters, and enters 
into the most minute details of military life. 
Scarcely a day passes without his having visited 
some regiment or other. He asks himself to dinner 
in the officers' messes regularly and spends hours on 
end therein. In order to lessen the expense of his 
officers on these occasions he especially forbade the 
drinking of French champagne from German hot- 
ties! I was informed that he was well aware of this 
deception which was practised for his sake, and 
cheerfully acquiesced in it. It is the custom that 
when the Emperor honours one or other regiment 



WILLIAM II 73 

with his presence, the colonel addresses a patriotic 
speech to him to which the monarch always answers 
at great length. 

A few days before the fall of Prince von Buelow, 
— an unusually stormy session took place in the 
Eeichstag because of a letter the Emperor had writ- 
ten to the German Ambassador at Paris. All parties 
combined against the personal and anti-constitu- 
tional interference of the Emperor in serious mat- 
ters of state. The members ' criticism was specially 
directed against the impulsive and mischievous 
speeches of the Emperor. Prince von Buelow sol- 
emnly promised to put a stop to the verbosity of 
his master. Shortly after this the Emperor was 
dining at the officers' mess in the barracks of a cer- 
tain regiment, and the Colonel made the usual ad- 
dress. The Emperor answered: ''My dear Col- 
onel, I would like to be able to say a few words to 
you all here. ..." There he stopped and signified 
his inability to proceed by putting his hand over his 
mouth. This little incident proves how the Emperor 
could be influenced by the Reichstag, notwithstanding 
his great power and general omnipotence. 

When he made his official inspections of troops, 
incomparable and peerless actor as he was, he made 
himself up very cleverly and by means of paints to 
closely resemble Caesar. To do him justice, he knew 
how to talk to his soldiers, and also how to excite 
their patriotism to the highest pitch. He was un- 



74 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

questionably very popular with the army, and was 
the idol of the German soldiery. Their discipline 
and enthusiasm, in the present war give complete 
proof of this. 

Such is the man who directs the destinies of the 
German Empire. To describe his most complex 
character fully whole volumes would be needed. I 
have only given a personal impression of him which 
was obtained through living fourteen years in Ger- 
many. Incontestably, despite all his faults, the 
German Emperor is a distinct and rare personality. 
His projects and ideas were vast, embracing not only 
Germany but the entire world. But in the putting 
of them into execution his extremely impulsive char- 
acter — his habit of acting on the spur of the moment, 
his sudden decisions made without consideration, and 
his extreme vanity, created very serious obstacles to 
his success. His plans were blocked because he had 
not calculated their effect. In his foreign policies 
he wanted too much, and he always wanted to act 
immediately. 

Obsessed with the idea of German greatness he 
tried to exploit the whole universe, and in so doing 
naturally added to the list of his enemies. He 
plunged towards the Turkish East, encouraged Aus- 
tria on her Balkan policy and battered his head 
against Russia, and in so doing seriously disturbed 
the relations between Russia and Germany. In fol- 
lowing his colonial policy he feverishly hastened the 



WILLIAM II 75 

building of war ships, proclaimed himself Grand Ad- 
miral of the Atlantic, and found himself face to face 
with Britain's immense sea power. He assiduously 
cultivated France in the hope of winning her to his 
strong anti-British policies, and on the spur of the 
moment at Tangiers and later at Agadir he again 
evoked in the memories of all the present Allies the 
bloody pages of 1870. 

He did everything he could to win the friendship 
of the United States. All his favours and all his 
personal attentions were showered on the Americans 
who came in their yachts to Kiel in the racing season. 
He gave the city of New York a statue of Frederick 
II, executed by himself, and at the same time spread 
a veritable network of spies all over the United 
States, thus making the very name of German anath- 
ema there, and by inconceivable treachery paved the 
way for the intervention of that vast power in the 
European War. 

His political projects are incontestably worthy of 
a great sovereign but when it comes to putting them 
into operation, faults and weaknesses are apparent 
which can only be the outcome of a very questionable 
and mediocre mind. 

The unlimited ambition of the Kaiser and his arro- 
gant desire to be the centre of attraction have prac- 
tically paralyzed all his acts. He was not satisfied 
with sowing seeds but he wanted also immediately 
to reap the harvest. He wanted to do everything 



76 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

himself and not leave anything to his successors. 
Evidently his main object in life was to write his 
own epitaph as ''William the Greatest," and this 
was one of the essential causes of the present 
struggle. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE GERMAN MINISTERS 

I DID not personally know Count de Caprivi de 
Montecuccoli, the Emperor 's second Imperial Chan- 
cellor, who succeeded Bismarck. He was known as a 
good soldier, absolutely honest but little prepared 
for the part he was destined to play. In speaking 
of his own dismissal and Caprivi 's appointment in 
his place, Bismarck, just created General in Chief, 
said, ' ' The Emperor has made a General of his fore- 
most chancellor, and one of his best generals he has 
made a Chancellor." The short tenure of Count 
Caprivi in office was foreshadowed when he de- 
nounced the treaty with Russia which had been made 
by Bismarck in the days of his power, and also initi- 
ated an anti- Agrarian policy. Caprivi fell under the 
violent attacks of the Junkers party. 

Prince Hohenlohe, who succeeded him, is hardly 
known in Europe or even in Germany. He neverthe- 
less deserves a certain amount of attention. He had 
previously been President of the Ministerial Council 
in Bavaria, where he was greatly liked and esteemed 
by all parties without exception. He later held the 
position of Ambassador in Paris and succeeded, in 

77 



78 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

spite of many serious difficulties lie had to contend 
with while there, in making himself very popular. 
Before being made Chancellor he was the Emperor's 
personal representative in Alsace-Lorraine. After 
he became Chancellor he had to accept as Foreign 
Minister Herr von Buelow, a great favourite of the 
Emperor, and who from the time of his entrance into 
politics was considered in Berlin as successor to 
Hohenlohe sooner or later. The position of the 
Chancellor at once became very ambiguous. To 
please the new star, which was in the ascendant, the 
flatterers at Court hastened to intrigue against the 
Chancellor. But it must be admitted that Prince 
Hohenlohe accepted this disagreeable state of affairs 
with a princeliness which was characteristic. He 
allowed his enemies full rein. One day he said to 
me, ''When I was First Minister in Bavaria, Ambas- 
sador in Paris and the Emperor's representative in 
Alsace-Lorraine, it was said of me that I was a great 
statesman. I was the only one to disbelieve this! 
Now that I am Chancellor of the Empire the Berlin 
world would have it that I am an ignorant brute, and 
I am the only man who does not believe it ! " 

Prince Hohenlohe had married a Eussian, the 
Princess Wittgenstein, daughter of the hero of the 
Napoleonic Wars of 1812, and was a great landed 
proprietor in Eussia. He was an ardent advocate of 
a strong and binding entente with Eussia. Indeed 
this was his political creed. At the beginning of his 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 79 

chancellorship he enjoyed a certain influence. As 
the Empress' uncle he had the freedom of the Im- 
perial Court, but very soon this influence had to give 
way to that of von Buelow, whose subtle and flatter- 
ing manner and nature were gratifying to the 
Sovereign. 

Prince Hohenlohe vacated his office in the same 
way as he came to it — ^with all the dignity of a great 
nobleman and the manners of a gentleman. He was 
never known to complain of the Emperor, or to sneer 
at his successor as Bismarck did. The new chan- 
cellor was diametrically his opposite. Von Buelow 
was the perfect type of a Careerist or Arrivist. He 
was very astute and machiavellian. A master of the 
art of flattering those who could be of use to him, 
possessed of extraordinary erudition, an excep- 
tional memory, and a superlatively wonderful ora- 
torical talent, von Buelow was a brilliant conversa- 
tionalist and a diplomat of great finesse. I will not 
go so far as to say that his policies were conceived or 
carried out on this scale, but I think that his chief 
political fault was pandering too much to the caprices 
of his Imperial Master. Left to himself von Buelow 
might have risen to be a really remarkable states- 
man, for he had all the qualities that are necessary 
for the making of one. His speeches in the Reich- 
stag were always in good taste, and much admired, 
although these speeches were sometimes very in- 
sincere and rang hollow. The first time he addressed 



80 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

the Eeichstag he roused the ■unanimous applause of 
all the deputies. I was present at the time, and left 
with Herr Kardorff, one of the leaders of the Party 
of the Right. He was most enthusiastic about von 
Buelow and his speech, but after having gone a few 
steps with me he said suddenly: — ^'My dear Schel- 
king, when one stops to think — what did Buelow 
really say?" This characteristic was the most re- 
markable of all others in the Emperor 's fourth Chan- 
cellor. There is no need to detail the policies fol- 
lowed by Prince von Buelow while he was in power. 
He was a docile instrument in the Emperor's hands. 

In his private life the Prince was a most delightful 
and charming man. He captivated all who came 
near him by his intelligence, his brilliant conversa- 
tion, and his great amiability. But when one knew 
him better one detected a falseness beneath all these 
qualities. 

During the whole of his stay in office he had but 
one really patriotic impulse. That was on the day 
when he promised the Reichstag to control his 
Sovereign's habit of making speeches, and to assume 
the responsibility for them. But at the same time 
and by that promise he threw aside his protector, 
to whom he owed his rapid rise to power, and risked 
his whole career, having in nine years advanced from 
the position of Councillor to the German Ambassa- 
dor at St. Petersburg to the Chancellorship of the 
German Empire. 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 81 

Prince von Buelow married an Italian, the Prin- 
cess Camporeale, who had been Countess Doenhof in 
her first marriage. She had ever cultivated music 
and poetry and was a musician far above the ordi- 
nary. Pupil of Liszt and friend of Wagner, she had 
a salon which was frequented not only by the highest 
Berlin society, but also by the whole artistic and lit- 
erary world. Herr Stein, the well known editor of 
the Frankfurter Zeitung, was one of von Buelow 's 
intimates. As the Prince assiduously cultivated the 
press, he often received Stein even when ambas- 
sadors were waiting to see him on matters of state. 

In the salon of the Princess all speech was unre- 
stricted and frankness cultivated, and in this way 
Prince von Buelow was always in touch with the 
world at large, and with the ideas of all classes of the 
people. As the Princess had become engaged to her 
first husband in Count Osten-Sacken's drawing-room 
in Florence, where the latter was Charge d 'Affaires 
in 1865, the relations between the Chancellor's family 
and our ambassador were of the most intimate kind. 
But our ambassador was rather suspicious of Prince 
von Buelow. He was not sure of his sincerity, and 
told me more than once that he would rather have 
to do with Baron Marschall von Bieberstein who was 
a gross personality at best, but with whom one was 
always sure where one stood. 

Prince Buelow fell after the promise he made to 
the Eeichstag with regard to the Imperial habit of 



82 EE COLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

making speeches. William was furious with Buelow 
for giving this promise and a few months later the 
chancellor was suddenly dismissed. But, and this 
is strange, the Emperor's irritation with him did not 
last long and Prince von Buelow continues, even to- 
day, to keep his master's great friendship and 
favour. During the present war, he has filled the 
position of Ambassador to Rome, and it is certain his 
name will be prominent among those of the German 
plenipotentiaries to the Peace Conference. 

The discovery of a successor to Prince von Buelow 
proved most difficult. It was necessary to find a 
statesman who was not only a diplomat but well 
versed in the domestic conditions then existing in 
Germany. For a time Count von Wedel was con- 
sidered for the position. He was then representa- 
tive of the Emperor in Alsace-Lorraine, and had 
held the post of Ambassador to Vienna for several 
years. It was even said at Berlin that the position 
of the Chancellorship had actually been offered to 
him, but that he had declined. Finally the Emper- 
or's choice fell on Herr von Bethmarm-Hollweg. 
This nomination was entirely unexpected ! The new 
Chancellor was of obscure birth, his ancestors were 
Jewish, and were a family of bankers at Frankfurt. 
The family name was Bethmann, and the noble name 
of Hollweg came to it by marriage. He had never 
held a diplomatic post, but had been Chief of Police 
at Potsdam, (Polizeipresident), Governor of the 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 83 

Rhine Province and finally Governor General of the 
Province of Brandenburg, of which the capital is 
Berlin. 

At Potsdam he had been in close touch with the 
Emperor and he knew how to improve his oppor- 
tunities, and gain the monarch's favour. He knew 
nothing of the basic principles of diplomacy. Our 
Ambassador in Berlin told me he was absolutely use- 
less, that it was a waste of time to talk to him, and 
that he preferred to discuss important matters with 
one of the Secretaries of State. But gradually von 
Bethmann-Hollweg found himself. At the interview 
between the Kaiser and Nicholas II in a Baltic port,, 
Sazonoff, then our Minister of Foreign Affairs, inti- 
mated that it was most agreeable to discuss affairs 
with him. This remark is characteristic of Sazonoff 
as it was von Bethmann-Hollweg who forced the 
withdrawal by Sazonoff of our arrangement with 
Germany regarding Persia, which was humiliating 
for us. 

When he resigned his post Herr von Bethmann- 
Hollweg had achieved the reputation of having been 
entirely honest in all his dealings, but otherwise a 
nonentity, lacking in any personal initiative and will- 
ingly agreeing to his master's slightest wish and 
whim. 

I did not know Dr. Michaelis — ^his successor — 
nearly so well. But he occupied only a second rate 
position at the best. It was said of him that he was 



84 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Prussian to the backbone, and eager to copy Bis- 
marck, but lacking any resemblance to the Iron Chan- 
cellor, with the exception of his personal grossness, 
which was notorious. In that he indeed resembled 
the great German. It has never been understood 
why he was chosen by the Emperor. 

The next Imperial Chancellor, I knew exceedingly 
well while I was stationed in Munich. Count Hert- 
ling is a Bavarian by birth, and during my official life 
he was at different times a deputy in the Bavarian 
Chamber and in the Reichstag. He belonged to the 
centre Catholic Party, of which he was one of the 
leaders up to the very day on which he was nominated 
to the Chancellorship. He was a thoroughgoing 
Catholic. More than once it was expected he would 
be appointed prime minister of Bavaria. But the 
old Prince Regent — although of a very liberal mind 
where religion was concerned — was afraid of Hert- 
ling's super-pronounced Catholic views and ideas. 
Ludwig III, the then King of Bavaria, devout Catho- 
lic himself, made him President of the Ministerial 
Council, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. I am 
forced to believe that his nomination as Chancellor 
of the Empire — without wishing in the least to de- 
tract from his many strong mental qualities — was 
made first to flatter and please the amour propre 
of the Bavarians, and secondly so that the Em- 
peror could have at his right hand one who had the 
ear of the Pope, who could therefore easily be used 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 85 

to approach the Holy Father in case it should be 
necessary to have the support of the Holy See in 
the peace pourparlers which must come. In view 
of the various complications which exist in Ger- 
many and Austria I know the above to be the situa- 
tion. 

I personally knew very well two other important 
ministers. Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, and 
the present (June, 1918) Foreign Secretary, Herr 
von Kuehlmann. Baron Marschall was the prede- 
cessor of Prince von Buelow in the ofiQce of Foreign 
Secretary. He was a Badener by birth and a state 
attorney by profession. Bismarck noticed his 
speeches at that time, and proposed he should take 
up a diplomatic career. He did so and attained the 
high rank of foreign secretary which he occupied 
during the chancellorship of von Caprivi, and for 
two years under Prince Hohenlohe. He was a man 
of remarkable intelligence, and force of character 
which was only equalled by his personal grossness. 
He treated foreign diplomats with the greatest negli- 
gence imaginable, and made them wait in his ante- 
chamber sometimes for hours at a time. Hence all 
foreign representatives complained bitterly of him. 
He only made an exception in the case of Count 
Osten-Sacken, after having attempted to treat him 
as he did the others. But our ambassador taught 
him a lesson. 

One day, a few minutes before dinner, at eight 



86 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

o'clock in the evening, the secretary of the Foreign 
Secretary came to our Embassy and communicated 
— verbally to Count Osten-Sacken — the desire of 
Baron Marschall to speak with him at once. An- 
noyed at this unprecedented method of procedure, 
our Ambassador said to the envoy — "Acquaint the 
Secretary of State with the fact that I am about to 
sit down to dinner. After having dined I shall 
smoke my cigar quietly, and if I have time in the 
course of the evening, I will come to see him. ' ' 

About 10.30 Count Osten-Sacken went to the For- 
eign Office. Baron Marschall was awaiting him at 
the door and was voluble in his excuses and apolo- 
gies. "You are right in excusing yourself, my dear 
Marschall," said our Ambassador, "for it must in- 
deed be something most urgent which permitted you 
to disturb the Russian Ambassador at so unreason- 
able an hour. ' ' 

Baron Marschall took this lesson to heart, and 
also took very good care not to run the risk of ex- 
periencing another such snub, in his dealings with 
our Ambassador. From that time onward, the re- 
lations between our Embassy and the German For- 
eign Office left nothing to be desired. The Baron 
Marschall was a supporter of our entente with Ger- 
many and — with our assistance — of one with France 
also. His master stroke in diplomacy which en- 
couraged such an entente, was the Treaty of Shim- 
onoseki, which brought the Chino-Japanese War to 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 87 

an end. The Japanese had occupied Port Arthur 
and seemed very desirous of remaining there. But 
France and Eussia strongly protested against the 
establishment of the Empire of the Rising Sun on 
the Asiatic Continent. Pourparlers were proceed- 
ing and were almost at an end when — quite unex- 
pectedly — Baron Marschall made the suggestion 
that Germany should be accepted as the ally of 
France and Russia in the Port Arthur question. 
The Cabinets of Petrograd and Paris, unable to re- 
fuse this gratuitous German collaboration, had to 
accept it, and thus for the first time since 1870, 
France, Russia and Germany worked towards the 
same end. It was the dream of William II seem- 
ingly coming true. Baron Marschall had made it 
practicable, and it was the German Emperor who 
later spoiled it all. 

The Foreign Secretary fell after the famous legal 
case of Lutsow-Leckardt, that caused such tremen- 
dous scandal at the time. These gentlemen had 
forged letters compromising to the Imperial Gov- 
ernment, and were accused of high treason. As the 
contents of these letters chiefly concerned Baron 
Marschall, he was attacked most bitterly by a cer- 
tain section of the German Press with the object of 
bringing about his downfall. The Foreign Secre- 
tary — remembering his legal past — presented him- 
self at the Bar of Justice to defend himself. He 
began his speech, which was in the nature of a plea 



88 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

against the abuses of the Prussian Government, with 
these words — ''In coming here I take refuge in public 
opinion," {Flucht in die off entlichheit) . His de- 
fence of himself was masterly. Lutzoff and Leck- 
ardt were condemned but the whole country ap- 
plauded the plea of Baron Marschall. Yet a week 
later the Emperor discharged him. William never 
forgave him for having had recourse to public opin- 
ion instead of trusting in him. 

Two or three days after the trial, Count Osten- 
Sacken went to see Marschall, who was ill. lie 
complimented him on his great success, but he also 
asked him if the whole affair were not likely to bring 
upon him the displeasure of the Monarch. The 
Foreign Secretary answered, ''Eest assured, I am 
stronger than ever before. ' ' Two days later he was 
discharged. Nevertheless, acceding to the insistence 
of Prince von Buelow, the Emperor appointed him 
Ambassador to Constantinople, and it was there espe- 
cially that the Baron gave full proof of his excep- 
tional diplomatic powers. It was he who proposed 
the trip of William II to the Orient, who crystallized 
the Turco-German rapprochement, and made the 
Sultan a vassal to the German Emperor. To him 
is the credit due for the project of the Bagdad Eail- 
way, and it was he who prepared all the details for 
the execution of this great project. Again it was 
he who succeeded in placing German officers in posi- 
tions of high command in the Ottoman Army. To 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 89 

do William II justice, though he did not love the 
Baron he covered him with distinctions. He sent 
him from Constantinople to London as ambassador, 
and there Baron Marschall died — having but shortly 
before been appointed Chevalier of the Black Eagle 
— the highest order in Prussia. 

Herr von Kuehlmann came to power, thanks ex- 
clusively to the Emperor 's favour. There can be no 
comparison between him and such a forceful man 
as Baron Marschall. I knew him intimately in Mu- 
nich, when he was a boy. His mother honoured me 
with her friendship. She was a superb musician, 
and a by no means undistinguished composer. 
Herr von Kuehlmann, Sr., a very rich man, was a 
merchant of Munich, having made his vast fortune 
at Constantinople in the construction of the Ana- 
tolian Railways. His wife, nee Baronne Redwitz, 
belonged to the highest Bavarian aristocracy. Their 
son, young Kuehlmann, was destined for a Bavarian 
diplomat's career, but his ambition was higher than 
that, and he entered the service of the Empire. 
His first appointments were not very encourag- 
ing to his ambition. He had to be content with 
posts of secondary importance in South America, 
Persia, etc. One day he was presented to the Em- 
peror, and made a very favourable impression, but 
he owes his final success to somewhat unusual cir- 
cumstances. Among the members of the Russian 
Embassy at London during the reign of Edward 



90 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

VII, was a certain Monsieur Poklewsy-Kosiell, 
lately the Russian Minister to Roumania. He was 
First Secretary and later Councillor to the London 
embassy, and enjoyed the confidence and was on 
terms of some intimacy with the British Sovereign. 
Monsieur Poklewsky was thus popular at the British 
Court, and much sought after by all British host- 
esses. He was very rich, and being a man of con- 
siderable intelligence used his fortune to make his 
position still better. During one of his visits to 
London the German Emperor met Poklewsky, and 
learnt of the exceptional position the latter occu- 
pied. William wished to secure just such a man 
as Poklewsky for the German Embassy, and with his 
usual impulsiveness appointed Baron Eckhart von 
Eckhardstein as councillor. The new councillor had 
two trumps in his hand for the game. He had mar- 
ried the daughter of Sir John Blundell Maple, and 
she had a very large fortune in her own right. But 
very soon after his appointment the Emperor per- 
ceived that the man he had made Councillor in Lon- 
don only resembled Poklewsky in the matter of 
wealth. The intelligence of the Russian diplomat 
left him entirely out of the running. The Emperor 
discharged von Eckhardstein as suddenly as he had 
appointed him, and remembering von Kuehlmann, 
appointed him to the London post. This was the be- 
ginning of von Kuehlmann 's brilliant career. 
Without being quite able to attain the position 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 91 

Poklewsky had reached, Kuehlmann succeeded in 
worming his way cleverly into British society and 
becoming a member of the best clubs. Gradually he 
obtained the privilege of sending personal reports 
to the Emperor. It is possible that he was de- 
ceived with regard to the real intentions of the Brit- 
ish Cabinet, for he assured his sovereign that Great 
Britain would never intervene in the European war 
the Emperor premeditated. Even so, the Emperor 
did not withdraw his support of Kuehlmann. When 
it became a question of encouraging Turkey to 
favour an alliance with Germany, von Kuehlmann 
was sent to Constantinople. Monsieur de Giers, one 
time Russian Ambassador to Turkey, and later Am- 
bassador to Italy, told me that the Turks in his time 
had no intention of breaking their neutrality, if such 
a war occurred. There were then two parties at 
Constantinople. One led by the Grand Vizier, 
worked for strict neutrality, the other, led by Enver 
Pasha determined on an alliance with Germany 
After war had broken out four days were sufficient 
for von Kuehlmann to persuade the Turks to allow 
the Goeben and the Breslau to attack the Eussian 
coast on the Black Sea. It is probably due to this 
success that Kuehlmann later owed his appointment 
to the post of Foreign Secretary. 

It is necessary to add a few words regarding Ger- 
many's foreign representatives in various countries, 
whose members played important parts at their vari- 



92 EE COLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

ous posts, until within a few days of the actual break- 
ing out of the war. The choice of the Emperor in 
these matters was not always happy. He per- 
mitted himself to be guided — as usual— purely by 
personal reasons, and personal policies. In this 
manner Count Pourtales was sent to Petrograd, as 
German Ambassador — one of the most difficult diplo- 
matic posts. Mentally, he was not nearly big 
enough for the position. In the same way Count de 
Monts, a typical Prussian, stiff and severe, was ap- 
pointed Ambassador to Eome where he was intensely 
disliked. 

Count Pourtales — married to Countess Kanitz — 
was my colleague at The Hague, where he was a dis- 
tinct success. He went from there as Prussian Min- 
ister to Munich, and there too, made for himself an 
enviable position. From Munich he was appointed 
Ambassador to Petrograd. Justice must be done 
him by saying that he did everything he could to 
please. Very rich in his own right, his dinners and 
other entertainments were of frequent occurrence, 
and always in excellent taste. His receptions were 
noted for the eclat with which they went off, and the 
number of notable people present. But diplomat of 
the old school as he was, he was only seen in the 
most aristocratic circles and salons. He did not 
seem to realize that the times had changed, and that 
a foreign diplomat who was earnestly desirous of 
knowing the true state of public opmion in Russia, 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 93 

should not confine himself solely to high society in 
Petrograd. Furthermore, Count Pourtales was not 
as well versed in all matters pertaining to his duties 
as he should have been. It was known later that he 
expected the outbreak of a revolution in Russia the 
day after Germany declared war, a revolution which 
he said in a code message I happened to decipher, 
should immediately make it impossible for Russia 
to fight or give assistance to the Allies. Yet, as 
the world knows, Russia struggled to do its best from 
the very beginning, despite the most terrible handi- 
caps imposed upon the country and people by an in- 
competent government and treacherous ministers. 

In political circles at Petrograd, Count Pourtales 
was not taken very seriously. He was deemed vain 
and possessed of but little intelligence. This was 
indeed true, for when by chance he wished to be 
really astute and cunning, he was the more easily 
trapped. 

Thus, for instance, a few months before the war, 
an article of the most virulent kind attacking the 
amour propre of Russia appeared in the Cologne 
Gazette. It was proved that it had been inspired by 
Count von Dohna, chief A. D. C. to the German Em- 
peror, then attached to the Russian Emperor's per- 
son, at the instigation of Monsieur Lucius, Council- 
lor at the German Embassy in Petrograd. Both 
men had to leave the Russian capital and Count 
Pourtales was seriously compromised. The whole 



94 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

policy of the German Embassy in Russia was cen- 
tred on the Count's firm conviction that Russia 
would never accept a war with Germany. Pie had 
been spoiled by the diplomatic success he achieved 
in 1909, over the annexation of Herzegovina by Aus- 
tria-Hungary. 

In 1914 at the time of the Serbian ultimatum, 
which unleashed the dogs of war in Europe, Count 
Pourtales too hastily concluded that he was going 
to place another diplomatic feather in Germany's 
cap by achieving complete success in the game of 
threatening Russia with war. The declaration of 
war made him lose his head completely. I well 
remember his horrified astonishment which for a 
time bordered on hysterics, when he handed our 
Foreign Minister, S. D. Sazonoff, his government's 
note declaring war. He was very pale and trembling 
all over, and was so beside himself when he left the 
Russian minister's presence that he forgot some im- 
portant papers. 

The German Ambassador to Paris, Baron von 
Schoen, was similarly not equal to his task. He came 
of a small and unknown family of Jewish origin, his 
father having been a banker at Darmstadt. Baron 
von Schoen was far from being a serious diplomat, 
and confined himself, while in Paris, to playing the 
part of a thorough bon viveur and man of the world. 
His career was one of constant shifts and changes, 
and curiously enough, I personally played a certain 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 95 

part in his promotion. After having spent many- 
years at Petrograd and Paris as Councillor to the 
German Embassies, he was appointed minister to 
one of the South American Republics. His vanity- 
wounded, von Schoen refused the post. Prince von 
Buelow — ^who in any case did not like him — offered 
him an even less important post, that of Minister 
of Prussia at Oldenburg, and he notified the Baron 
that a second refusal would be deemed sufficient rea- 
son for his immediate discharge from the diplomatic 
service. Von Schoen handed in his resignation, but 
was appointed Grand Master of Ceremonies at the 
Court of Coburg, where — nevertheless — he did not 
remain very long because he was not liked by the 
Duchess of Coburg (only sister of the Emperor 
Alexander III). He then retired to a small estate 
he owned in Bavaria, and set to work to criticize the 
Prussian Court. One day while he was staying for 
a short time in Berlin, presumably as I had known 
him very well in Petrograd and Bavaria, he con- 
fided to me his regret and disappointment at being 
out of the diplomatic service, and his earnest desire 
to re-enter it. He added that he had done every- 
thing he could to see Prince von Buelow, but that 
the latter carefully avoided him. Finally he asked 
if I would be his intermediary through Count Osten- 
Sacken, and try and obtain an invitation for him to 
the dinner which was to be held the following night 
at the Russian Embassy, and to which the Imperial 



96 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Chancellor was coming. As the invitations had al- 
ready been issued, Count Osten-Sacken suggested 
that he should come in during the evening. Baron 
von Schoen hastened to accept this suggestion and 
had a long conversation with the Chancellor which re- 
sulted in his appointment as Minister to Copenhagen, 
where later he met Monsieur Iswolsky, who at that 
time represented the Russian Emperor at the Danish 
Court. Both of them being ambitious men they 
soon understood one another and concluded a pact. 
Baron von Schoen promised that he would do his 
best to obtain for Iswolsky the post of Ambassador 
to Berlin, and Iswolsky agreed to do his best to ob- 
tain for the Baron the post of Ambassador to Petro- 
grad. As it turned out Iswolsky succeeded. Von 
Schoen became German Ambassador to Russia, and 
from there went in the same capacity to Paris. 
Baron von Schoen 's intrigue in favour of Iswolsky 
met a stumbling block in the finesse of my chief. 
Count Osten-Sacken. He went to Petrograd and 
presented his resignation to the Emperor, without 
a word of warning, explaining to him the utter im- 
possibility of continuing his work in Berlin, con- 
tinually undermined by an intrigue, the headquarters 
of which were in Copenhagen. Nicholas did not like 
sudden shocks. He begged Count Osten-Sacken to 
remain at his post, promising to put an end to Is- 
wolsky 's intrigues. The latter stayed on at Copen- 
hagen, but — as may seem very strange to those ig- 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 97 

norant of the character of Nicholas II, but most nat- 
ural to those who know it — Iswolsky in a few months 
became Foreign Minister at Petrograd. 

It is necessary to give these details in order to 
draw attention to the fact that the personal interests 
of the Russian and German foreign representatives 
always took precedence of the best interests of the 
two nations, despite such vitally serious times as 
those immediately prior to the outbreak of the war. 
Personal intrigues were invariably the order of the 
day, and unfortunately, the characters both of Wil- 
liam and of Nicholas — although usually so opposite 
in all things — lent themselves to this dangerous state 
of affairs. Pourtales and von Schoen knew how to 
flatter the amour propre of their respective sover- 
eigns. They made an art of sycophancy. M. Sazon- 
off, for instance, one of the last foreign ministers 
appointed by Nicholas, who held his portfolio much 
longer than any of his predecessors, distributed ap- 
pointments of ministers and ambassadors, not be- 
cause of any talent or efficiency in the men he chose 
but exclusively by his personal liking for them. This 
is well illustrated by the appointment of Monsieur 
Sverbeef, our last ambassador to Berlin, who was 
in no way fitted to fill the position of my former 
chief Count Osten-Sacken. 

The Emperor William had better luck in his choice 
of an ambassador to London. Prince Lichnowsky 
was essentially a gentleman in every acceptance of 



98 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

the term. He belonged to an old and aristocratic 
Silesian family; he was very rich and very well 
read, a fine conversationalist, and had considerable 
finesse. In London he made for himself entirely 
by his own skilful efforts, an exceedingly enviable 
position, both in political circles and in the drawing- 
rooms of the British capital. Unfortunately, I have 
every reason to believe that his diplomatic actions 
were somewhat paralysed by von Kuehlmann, who 
was Councillor of the Embassy at the time.* 

The German Emperor had entrusted the Embassy 
at Vienna to Herr von Tchirsky, emphatically a per- 
son of a gross and vulgar nature. The following 
episode proves his lack of subtlety, and his inability 
to adapt himself to circumstances. At a Court Ball 
given at Petrograd, Herr von Tchirsky, who was 
present, as he was then Councillor to the German 
Embassy there, was walking with a lady on his arm, 
when in the crowd he bumped into the Grand Duke 
Vladimir, the Emperor's Uncle. The Grand Duke, 
whose pleasantness was of a somewhat ponderous na- 
ture, said to Herr von Tchirsky 's companion — 
''What can you find to talk about to a diplomat? 
They are always so frightfully dull. Come with 
me instead," and he offered the lady his arm. Von 
Tchirsky 's Prussian pride was wounded. He com- 
plained to his Chief, Prince Eadolin, about the mat- 

* Editor's Note : This was Ayritten before the publication of the 
Lichnowsky memoirs. They completely justify the author's belief. 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 99 

ter, making his version of the incident appear much 
more serious than it really was. Eadolin went alone 
to see the Foreign Minister (Iswolsky) and insisted 
on an apology from the Grand Duke. Iswolsky re- 
ported the incident to the Emperor in person, who — 
on his part — spoke to the Grand Duke. The latter 
was exceedingly astonished, for he had not the least 
intention of hurting the feelings of Tchirsky, and 
much less those of Germany. The Grand Duke ex- 
plained this to Prince Eadolin, but naturally this inci- 
dent did not tend to increase the popularity of the 
members of the German Embassy in diplomatic and 
social circles in Petrograd. The majority of the 
more important houses were closed thereafter to von 
Tchirsky, who had in consequence to be moved to 
another post. Even the position of the German 
Ambassador was seriously compromised, and shortly 
after Prince Eadolin was suddenly transferred to 
Paris. Imagine how much adaptability there was in 
the character of Tchirsky when it was a question of 
dealing with really serious diplomatic affairs. One 
suspects Germany did not desire to adapt herself to 
her circumstances but was constantly on the look- 
out for grievances. 

Before having been raised by the Emperor to the 
position and dignity of a prince of the German Em- 
pire, the new ambassador to Paris was known as 
Count Eadolinsky. A Pole by birth, he had great 
landed estates in the province of Posen. In his 



100 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

youth he had adopted a courtier's life and had be- 
come Grand Master of Ceremonies at the Court of 
the Crown Prince Frederick — later Emperor of Ger- 
many under the title of Frederick III. He was the 
Crown Prince's most intimate friend, and also pos- 
sessed the fullest confidence and friendship of the fu- 
ture Empress of Germany, who was the daughter of 
Queen Victoria of England. As is also known, dur- 
ing the last year of the reign of William I (1888 to 
1890) the future Emperor Frederick was dying at 
San Remo, of an illness that was to cause his death 
after a reign of a hundred days. During this period 
an intrigue was in full swing at Berlin which had 
as its object the abdication of the Crown Prince of 
his rights to the German Throne in favour of his 
son, the present Emperor. Prince William, who was 
then twenty-eight years of age, and who was very im- 
patient to obtain the throne, was fully cognizant of 
the details of this nefarious intrigue and was not 
only wholly a party to it, but energetic in its fur- 
therance in order that he might the more quickly 
achieve supreme powers. 

Bismarck was also entangled in this intrigue, of 
his own volition, but he committed the error of being 
too sure of William, whom he hoped and expected to 
become a docile instrument in his hands. He feared 
the accession of the Crown Prince, whose political 
ideas more often than not did not coincide with his. 
The intriguers were almost sure that the Crown 



THE GERMAN MINISTERS 101 

Prince, ill as he was, would balk their wishes, but 
they also knew that they would jQnd a serious ob- 
stacle in the person of Princess Victoria, who for 
her part wished to ascend the throne, if only for a 
few days ! The reason for this was chiefly a finan- 
cial one. As Princess of Great Britain, Princess 
Victoria was far from being rich. If she were still 
only Crown Princess on the death of her husband 
her Civil List would have naturally been greatly less 
than if she became Dowager Empress. It was de- 
cided to try and use the Princess, and to do this. 
Prince Eadolin was chosen. Notwithstanding his 
intimate relations and devotion to Frederick, which 
he emphasized on every possible occasion, he prom- 
ised his assistance to the scheme. As is known, the 
intrigue failed, and the Crown Prince became Em- 
peror for one hundred days, but Prince William did 
not forget Radolin's services. As soon as he as- 
cended the throne he appointed Count Radolinsky 
Ambassador to Constantinople, and created him a 
prince of the German Empire, under the name of 
Eadolin. Later he transferred him to the Embassy 
at Petrograd, and thence to the same post at Paris. 
This anecdote shows the despicable intriguing of 
the present German Emperor against his own father 
and mother, and it also shows to how great an ex- 
tent Prince Eadolin lent himself to acts that were 
aimed at those who had been kindest to him, and had 
benefited him in many ways. 



102 EE COLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

With Prince Eadolin, I conclude my short de- 
scription of the principal German diplomats William 
II chose during his reign to assist him in the execu- 
tion of his European policies. It must be said that 
all these statesmen were, with rare exceptions, men 
of second-rate intelligence and capacity, and only 
useful in promptly executing their master's orders. 
Thus it is obvious that on the shoulders of Emperor 
William II must rest the sole responsibility for all of 
Germany's foreign policies which finally resulted 
the present world-wide war. 



CHAPTER V 

NICHOLAS II 

His Character. The Ex- Emperor as Husband and Father. The 
Empress and Her Influence. Rasputin — The Grand Dukes 

Emperor Nicholas II succeeded to the throne of his 
ancestors under circumstances which but little re- 
sembled the accession of his father. 

Alexander III had found Russia seething with 
revolutionary movements and dissensions of many 
kinds; his father had been assassinated; the army 
was disorganized and the navy conspicuous by its 
nonexistence for any practical purpose. He left his 
son as a legacy an Empire quiet within its borders, 
and a nation respected by the world in general. The 
army left nothing to be desired, and the navy had 
reached very respectable proportions. But the Em- 
peror Alexander had pursued a reactionary policy 
and it was soon evident that this could not last. 
Liberal reforms were spoken of on all sides. The 
nation impatiently awaited these reforms and cen- 
tred its hopes on the young Sovereign. 

Very soon after he ascended the throne, Nicholas 
II received from all parts of his immense Empire ad- 
dresses expressing the fealty and also the hopes of 

103 



104 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

his people. The address of the people of the Prov- 
ince of Tver (situated between Petrograd and Mos- 
cow) was particularly explicit. Its most funda- 
mental suggestion was the necessity for national 
representation. But the monarch soon proved a dis- 
appointment to his people. At the audience granted 
by him to the representatives of Tver, he declared 
that he would continue the political policies of his 
father and termed as '* insensate" the suggestions 
of his people. The impression made by the Im- 
perial discourse was disastrous and the popularity 
of the Emperor was undermined. 

It was quite evident to impartial observers that 
Nicholas II would under no circumstances be able 
to continue the policy of his illustrious father. In 
the first place, times had greatly changed, and in the 
second, the young Emperor totally lacked the char- 
acteristics of his predecessor. Where Alexander 
III had been firm and decisive in his actions — Nich- 
olas II was irresolute and weak. From his earliest 
childhood he had been absolutely under the domi- 
nance of his powerful father, and had no initiative 
whatever. His mother entirely lacked strength of 
character and her influence was of no use at all in 
helping to form the character of her son. He fur- 
thermore, had the misfortune to have as preceptor, 
General Danilovitch, who was in no way equal to the 
great responsibilities of his position and duties. He 
was very narrow minded and suspicious. He eter- 



NICHOLAS II 105 

nally told his yonng charge : ' ' You must remember 
always, Highness, that everybody who approaches 
wishes to obtain something from you." Such an 
education bore its natural fruit! Nicholas became 
sly and suspected all his entourage — even his most 
intimate friends — of plotting against him. 

In his youth Nicholas II worked hard and, being 
capable by nature, his instruction should have left 
nothing to be desired. But his sole pleasure con- 
sisted in frequenting the officers' messes and casinos 
and very often he spent whole nights in such places, 
drinking heavily and listening to the songs of Bo- 
hemian minstrels. This sort of existence was ob- 
viously not good training for the Sovereign-to-be. 
In military circles he was, very naturally, the centre 
of adulation and flattery. Little by little he be- 
came very vain, which when taken in conjunction 
with his natural weakness of character, was certain 
to cause trouble in the future. 

At the time of his accession then Nicholas II was 
not a man of very complex character. He certainly 
did not lack intelligence and had a natural kind- 
ness of heart; but, on the other hand, his father had 
utterly crushed his will-power and General Danilo- 
vitch had impregnated him with hypocrisy and a 
general suspicion of humanity; in addition his 
mother had encouraged in him a lack of decision in 
every act which became the tragedy of his entire 
existence. Very often during his reign he tried to 



106 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

emulate his father, but in vain. He was his father's 
antithesis — even in physique — and could not imuress 
his personality upon the masses. 

In his personal relations Nicholas II was delight- 
ful ; he had the rare gift of picking out at first glance 
the most sympathetic chords in the nature of those 
who came near him and he never failed to play upon 
these most successfully. The German Emperor — 
William II — experienced this on more than one oc- 
casion. Nicholas II had a really extraordinary 
method of almost hypnotizing those with whom he 
talked ; he became exceedingly suave, seeming to in- 
terest himself eagerly in what was being said to 
him, and always agreed with the speaker no mat- 
ter what ideas were set forth. Moreover, being 
gifted, as are all the Romanoffs, with a prodigious 
memory, he would address to the person speaking to 
him remarks concerning his or her intimate life and 
circumstances therein, which never failed to flatter 
and charm. In his heart of hearts he was an auto- 
crat, but lacking either will-power or decision, he 
had recourse to cunning in order to make his author- 
ity felt or respected. When he was displeased with 
any minister, he never had the courage to tell him 
so frankly and far less had he the courage to dismiss 
him personally. On the contrary, he surrounded 
the already condemned minister with all sorts of 
friendly kindnesses and marks of esteem. After 
such an audience, the minister naturally would re- 



NICHOLAS II 107 

turn to his home delighted with his reception and 
believing himself to be more favoured than ever by 
his Imperial master. Very often, however, that 
same night would arrive a notification dismissing 
him from office. 

On one occasion Count Witte, then Minister of 
Finance, not being in agreement with his master, re- 
signed. Nicholas would not hear of it and assured 
Count Witte of his great esteem and confidence. 
Count Witte therefore withdrew his resignation and 
left the audience in triumph. In the Ante-room he 
found M. de Pleske — Director-in-Chief of the State 
Bank, and hence his subordinate — and asked him the 
reason for his visit to the palace. Pleske replied 
that he knew nothing about it but that he had been 
commanded by the Emperor himself. The next day 
Pleske was made Minister of Finance in Witte 's 
place. 

That was just like Nicholas II. Sometimes, in 
order to avoid painful scenes, he dismissed his min- 
isters by telegram. Thus, for instance, in 1897, 
the elder Goremikine, then Minister of the Interior, 
and in Europe on a two weeks' holiday, learned of 
his dismissal by an Imperial telegram handed to him 
by the station master at the Eussian frontier, as 
he was on his way back to his post. 

In his own family circle Nicholas was faithful only 
to himself and to those things he deemed essential 
to his own benefit. But even here he was ever ir- 



108 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

resolute. His brother, the Grand Duke Michael, and 
his uncle, the Grand Duke Paul, having against his 
will contracted morganatic marriages, he dismissed 
them from the army and deprived them of their titles 
and their incomes as Grand Dukes of the Imperial 
Family. But, shortly afterwards, he re-instated 
them in their positions and gave titles to their wives. 
During his reign the dissolution of family ties 
in Imperial circles became more and more pro- 
nounced. The ex-mistress of the Emperor — the 
Dancer Kchessinskaya — became the mistress of his 
uncle, the Grand Duke Sergius, and at the same time 
had as her lover the Emperor's cousin, the Grand 
Duke Andrew. In the ex-favourite's residence a 
game of the devil's own poker was played. Grand 
Dukes rubbed shoulders with a crowd of interlopers 
and ne'er do wells, with women of ill repute and 
business men of the worst character and reputation. 
Orders for war material, railway concessions and 
many other matters of like character were there 
talked over and contracted for. The Grand Dukes 
haunted the cabarets and were seen everywhere in 
public with the most notorious and profligate women 
of the demi-monde and underworld. Nicholas II 
tolerated these hideous excesses and members of the 
Imperial family who thus disgraced themselves were 
allowed to retain their high military posts and ex- 
tensive commands. It is true that, at the end of his 
reign, the Grand Dukes lost their influence with 



NICHOLAS II 109 

Nicholas, but this was chiefly due to their being in- 
volved in the death of Kasputin. 

With his ministers the Emperor made use of a 
system peculiar to himself, based on the principle: 
''Divide et impera." When Count Witte, a strong 
Liberal, was made President of the Council in the 
first Cabinet (so-called Constitutional), the Em- 
peror gave him as Minister of the Interior, M. Dour- 
novo, the avowed and bitter enemy of Liberalism. 

When Stolypin reached power he was forced to 
accept as Minister of Finance, Count Kokowtzotf, 
his antithesis in every way. Even Goremikine the 
elder, who more than any other minister possessed 
the Imperial confidence for more than a year, was 
unable to rid himself of several colleagues who were 
most annoying to him, as, for instance, the famous 
General Soukhomlinoff, Minister of War, who after 
the revolution was condemned to death for high trea- 
son. When Goremikine finally succeeded in getting 
rid of these men he had to put up with statesmen 
in his Cabinet who were in no way his own choice. 
Continual dissensions and quarrels were the result, 
greatly to the detriment of the government. Yet 
the success of the principle ''Divide et impera'* 
seemed to please the Imperial Couple greatly ! 

The Emperor was not only sly, but childish. He 
also insisted on keeping things secret which were 
ridiculously apparent. This trait he carried into the 
most trivial concerns of every day life. Admiral 



110 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Lomen, Chief A. D. C, attaclied to the Emperor's 
person, related the following incident to me. 

The Imperial Couple were in residence at Livadia, 
in the Crimea, having left Petrograd in September 
for a few weeks only. They changed their minds 
however and stayed until December. The Christmas 
holidays were approaching and, as the Emperor and 
Empress were accustomed to giving small gifts to 
their entourage at Christmas, Count Fredericksz, 
Minister of the Household, wished to know if the 
Imperial Couple intended to stay in the Crimea over 
Christmas so as to be able to make the necessary 
arrangements for obtaining presents and other 
things necessary from the Capital. He tried in vain 
to get some sort of decisive answer from the Emperor 
and therefore asked Admiral Lomen to help him. 
The Admiral mentioned the matter to the Empress, 
who promised to speak to the Emperor about it. A 
few days later the Emperor meeting the Admiral 
said to him: ''My dear Lomen, you have become 
very curious. You wish to know when we are leav- 
ing here, but I shall not tell you. ' ' In consequence, 
at the last minute, there being no time to obtain the 
presents from Petrograd, hurried purchases had to 
be made in the Crimea. Naturally, the only things 
available were objects of no value and of very doubt- 
ful taste. 

Nicholas was the same in affairs of State ; none of 
his ministers could boast that they really knew his 



NICHOLAS II 111 

mind. He changed it with extraordinary facility and 
reversed orders on the morrow that he had insisted 
upon the day before. For example, he declared him- 
self in agreement with Count Witte, who was 
strongly opposed to the occupation of Port Arthur, 
and, at the same time gave orders to Count Cassini, 
our Ambassador in Peking, to take up the matter 
with Li Hung Chang. 

In 1906 the majority oi the Privy Council declared 
itself against the dissolution of the Duma, and the 
Emperor readily acquiesced. Directly he was left 
alone with Goremikine, an advocate of dissolution, 
immediately upon leaving the Council Eoom he or- 
dered the Duma to be dissolved. 

In his relations with his people, Nicholas missed 
many opportunities of making himself popular. The 
reason for this must be ascribed, at any rate in the 
beginning of his reign, to his modesty which was 
akin to timidity, but latterly to his absolute indif- 
ference. I remember when a new cruiser was to be 
launched near Petrograd, the Emperor was present 
on board the yacht of the Minister of the Navy. 
When he returned a great crowd awaited him along 
the docks of the Neva, among them being a lot of 
young girls from a nearby boarding school — all of 
them daughters of officers — and a group of wounded 
soldiers and sailors from neighbouring hospitals who 
had come to salute the Emperor. When Nicholas 
appeared the crowds greeted him vociferously. The 



112 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Emperor lighted a cigarette and passed them all with 
a careless and a very casual salute, and without pay- 
ing the slightest attention whatsoever to the wounded 
men who had suffered and were still suffering for 
him. 

At the time of the declaration of the Great War, 
an enormous crowd of about 300,000 people were 
kneeling before his palace in Petrograd, singing the 
National Hymn and cheering madly. Nicholas did 
not even then know how to make use of this re- 
markable proof of patriotic sentiment and, hardly 
three years later abdicated, carrying with him only 
the regrets of those who had tried to be of use to him 
and those who had used him. 

Had Nicholas had the good fortune to have mar- 
ried a woman who would have seen and understood 
his weaknesses and faults and have tried at least 
to mitigate them, the fate which finally overtook 
him would very probably have been averted. Un- 
happily for him, he did not find such a helpmate in 
the Empress Alexandra. To be sure, she did not 
lack intelligence, but she carried her scepticism of 
every one and everything and her doubt of humanity 
in general, even further than did General Danilo- 
vitch, ex-Preceptor to the Emperor. She had a 
special gift of caricaturing every one and in this 
way influenced her husband to a very marked degree. 
Born in a small German Court she brought with her 
to Eussia its narrow customs and habits. She did 



NICHOLAS II 113 

not understand in the least the part she should play 
in an empire so vast as Russia. Very autocratic 
by nature, she only seemed to understand that she 
was at the head of 180 millions of people ; that fate 
had picked out for her a weakling of irresolute char- 
acter for a husband and that she could, in conse- 
quence, govern Russia as best pleased her. She was, 
as has been said, thoroughly and essentially auto- 
cratic — even in her own family. She adored her only 
son with a fierce passion and was constantly in a state 
of terror about his health. Because of this she neg- 
lected his education, and the young Prince — ^by na- 
ture very sturdy and capable — attained the age of 
thirteen years without having had a preceptor. 
Fraulein Schneider, a German governess, and Dere- 
venka, a common sailor, looked after him. The Im- 
perial Couple lived a most retired life, admitting 
no one to their intimacy but a few persons specially 
chosen by the Empress, who was not happy in her 
choice of friends. Among these I will cite the famous 
Madame Wiroubova and General Voeikoff. Ma- 
dame Wiroubova was the daughter of a man named 
Taneef, Chief of the Imperial Chancellery, and was 
divorced from her husband who had been a naval 
officer. She was narrow minded, dishonourable and 
very tricky and was one of the principal introducers 
to the Court of the infamous Rasputin. General 
Voiekoff was an ''Arriviste" and nothing else ! He 
sought to enrich himself through his proximity to 



114 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

and intimacy with the Imperial Couple. He had 
separated from his wife — who was the daughter of 
the Household Minister — and had the most detest- 
able and disreputable reputation. 

At the same time, the mystic nature the Empress 
had directly inherited from her mother was very 
apparent. Church after church was being built and 
nearly every year some new saint or other was dis- 
covered. The Empress, having become more ortho- 
dox than the orthodox, prayed for hours on end, but 
her prayers did not seem to satisfy her. She leaned 
strongly towards the supernatural and in conse- 
quence the Imperial Court was infested by all sorts 
of adventurers, spirit rappers, charlatans, quacks 
and other fraudulent impostors. 

First there was a certain "Philip" who main- 
tained that he was a re-embodied spirit. He in- 
voked the shade of Alexander III who dictated his 
desires through ''Philip." Elnowing how the Em- 
peror had been influenced by his father, ''Philip" 
showed considerable perspicacity and ministers fell 
from grace without any apparent reason. One day, 
seeing matters were being carried too far, General 
de Hesse, Commandant of the Palace, a man of un- 
impeachable integrity and devoted to the Emperor, 
determined to put an end to them. He summoned 
Monsieur Ratchkovsky, Chief of the State Police, 
(who had held the same position under Alexander 
III) and asked him to obtain details regarding the 




PRINCE VON BUELOW 



NICHOLAS II 115 

antecedents and personal history of ''Philip." It 
was then proved that he was an ordinary petty crim- 
inal, having served a prison term in France. , Gen- 
eral de Hesse hastened to report this to the Emperor 
and as a result ''Philip" was expelled, but then, 
presumably to maintain his authority, the Emperor 
dismissed Eatchkovsky and General de Hesse fell 
into disgrace. It would have been comic if the end 
had not been tragic. 

After "Philip" there came many others and last 
of all as an anti-climax and fitting conclusion came 
Easputin. He was a peasant of Tobolsk, in Siberia. 
His real name was Novich and he had had a very 
stormy youth. Hence his name "Easputin" which 
means "libertine." He was reputed to have be- 
longed to the sect known as "Chlisty," well-known 
for its terribly depraved rites and customs. Sud- 
denly a change occurred in him and he abandoned his 
family and his home and went on pilgrimages to 
holy places — Moscow, Kieff, Mt. Athos and even 
Jerusalem. When he returned to Eussia he began 
to preach in the villages, his doctrine being the duty 
of personally inflicted self -punishment and of plac- 
ing oneself above all temptations. He had a very 
strange way of applying his doctrine. Hg used to 
collect some of his women disciples and — after hav- 
ing undressed them — undress himself and bathe with 
them. In the bath he would read passages of the 
Scriptures to them. "When the police learned of 



116 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

these rites, they forbade him holding any more of 
these ''pious exercises" as he called them. Whilst 
travelling about Russia he met a monk by the name 
of Iliodor, who — quite unwittingly — was to become a 
personality in his sensational career. Iliodor had 
a certain reputation in Russia and had made himself 
known even at Court, by his anti-Revolutionary and 
pro-Czarist opinions during the elections for the sec- 
ond Duma. He was supported by a Prince of the 
Church, Bishop Hermoguen. Iliodor interested Ras- 
putin who had helped him and he presented Rasputin 
to the Bishop. The latter obtained an introduction 
for him to the Imperial Court. Madame "Wirou- 
bova became an enthusiastic disciple of his, and he 
made a very deep impression on the Empress. 

I must admit that Rasputin was far from being 
a nonentity. Despite his manners of a Moujik (peas- 
ant), his filthy aspect, and his quasi-frankness, he 
was very clever, crafty and subtle. It is said that he 
had hypnotic powers. Professor Sirotinine, Physi- 
cian to the Imperial Court, assured me that Rasputin 
in his presence, had by a few manipulations stopped 
a hemorrhage of the Grand Duke Alexis (heir to the 
throne) and therein lay the origin of Rasputin's 
special favour at Court with the Emperor and Em- 
press. He had persuaded the Empress that, as long 
as he was an intimate in the palace, the young heir 
to the throne would be in no danger of ill-health or 
accidents. Fate seemed to lend truth to his state- 



NICHOLAS II 117 

ment. One day Count Kokowtzoff — then President 
of the Council of Ministers — had at last persuaded 
the Emperor of the necessity of banishing Rasputin 
from the palace. Rasputin was thereupon ordered 
to leave Petrograd at once and to return to Tobolsk. 
The Empress was broken-hearted but, for a wonder 
— Nicholas stuck to his guns. Hardly had Rasputin 
gone when the Czarevitch slipped in his bath and was 
seriously ill in consequence, remaining lame from 
that day to this. There was a terrible family scene 
and Nicholas had to retract his orders. Rasputin 
was recalled. It is generally rumoured in Russia, 
as well as abroad, that intimate relations existed be- 
tween the Empress and Rasputin, but this is abso- 
lutely untrue. The Empress worshipped her son 
and looked upon Rasputin merely as his salvation. 
Furthermore she was attracted to this strange 
peasant by his seeming frankness — a virtue that she 
absolutely refused to recognize in any of the other 
members of her entourage. The Emperor never in- 
tervened again. He said: *'I prefer one Rasputin 
to ten hysterical fits of my wife." 

I knew Rasputin personally and he certainly was 
a nefarious character. On two different occasions 
I had conversations alone with him. He spoke al- 
ways in the shortest way possible and his lynx-like 
eyes continually avoided looking straight into mine. 
He addressed me in the familiar peasant manner of 

thee" and "thou." "Yes, yes," said he to me, 



(( 



118 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

''I know that thou wouldst like to know all my doings 
at Court. Many tales are told of the Empress and 
me. I know this. It is infamous. Yesterday I went 
to see her. The poor little thing ; she too is in need 
of being able to speak frankly with some one. She 
suffers much. I console her. I talk to her of God, 
and of us peasants and she becomes calm. Ah! it 
is but yesterday she went to sleep on my shoulder." 
And, after a few moments silence, Easputin began 
again: "I also saw Nicholas. I took tea with him 
yesterday. He gave me an excellent sweet and per- 
sonally filled my cup." Then winking leeringly at 
me, he added : ' ' Admit that thou wouldst very much 
like to know what we talked about? It did not con- 
cern politics. He has enough of them, poor man, 
from talking of them always with the others." 

Easputin was much interested to know if I would 
publish my conversation with him in the newspapers. 
He said to me: "I know journalists. They always 
write horrors about me. Thou must not. ' ' 

From my conversation with Easputin, I received 
chiefly the impression that he was undoubtedly very 
cunning and exceedingly able, and far from being 
frank, outspoken and debonair as he wished to ap- 
pear. I was also struck with the fact that his power 
lay in the servility practised toward him by some 
of the high dignitaries, who fawned upon him in 
hopes of favour and to increase their influence at 
Court. Easputin did not attempt to hide his con- 



NICHOLAS II 119 

tempt for them all and treated them as dirt beneath 
his feet. He wrote petitions to the various minis- 
ters on small scraps of soiled paper, knowing full 
well that they bore the importance of Imperial or- 
ders and insisted upon having his shoes and stock- 
ings taken off and replaced by ladies of the highest 
Eussian society in Petrograd. He had the reputa- 
tion of being venal. Personally I do not believe it. 
No one can prove that he ever accepted large sums 
of money; he contented himself with small gifts, 
such as silken shirts, and a few bottles of the best 
liquors, of which he was very fond, and jewels of no 
great value. I believe rather that the large sums 
supposed to have been received by him really went 
into the pockets of his friends. He led the most dis- 
solute life imaginable and was addicted to heavy 
drinking in company with women and girls of the 
streets and often spent whole nights in question- 
able restaurants listening to songs of the under- 
world, of which he was very fond. When he was 
drunk — which was very often — he was dangerously 
garrulous about the part he played at Court. One 
day in a restaurant in Moscow, he went even fur- 
ther than usual. General Djounkovsky, Governor of 
Moscow, therefore arrested him and made an official 
report to the Emperor himself of the reasons for 
his action. The only result was the disgrace of 
Pjounkovsky. 

Of course the Empress had learned of the report 



120 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

of the Governor of Moscow. It would have been 
thought that the Empress, rigidly severe as she was 
in all moral matters, would not only raise no objec- 
tions, but that on the contrary she would be the first 
to wish to get rid of Rasputin. That she did not is 
proof conclusive that only because of her firm con- 
viction that Rasputin was absolutely necessary to 
her son's life, was he enabled to keep his position 
at Court — no matter what he did. 

Rasputin's old protector — Bishop Hermoguen — 
having learned of his depraved ways of living, or- 
dered him to disappear from Petrograd and to go 
to a distant monastery there to expiate his sins. 
This advice of course did not please Rasputin, who 
replied to it by an intrigue against his old friend the 
Bishop, which resulted in his losing his see and re- 
tiring to a monastery which he did not leave until 
after the revolution. At the same time, Rasputin 
remembered the monk Iliodor and fearing he might 
expose him took care not to overlook him again. 
Iliodor found himself suddenly persecuted and 
finally unfrocked on a false charge. He left Russia 
and went to Sweden where he became a journalist. 

Rasputin became more powerful than ever and did 
not hesitate to continue his vile way of living, doing 
as he pleased openly. Several plans were made to 
get rid of him, the ministers even daring to speak of 
them to the Emperor. But all in vain. The luckiest 
of them made no impression whatever on the ob- 



NICHOLAS II 121 

stinacy of the Emperor. The others not so lucky, 
paid for their daring with the loss of their public 
careers. Finally, one of the innumerable Ministers 
of the Interior during the last days of Nicholas II, 
M. Khvostoff, decided to rid Russia of Rasputin by 
violence. A regular plot was organized with the 
assistance of the ex-Monk Iliodor — but it fell through 
at the last moment. M. Beletzky, the Assistant- 
Minister of the Interior, gave the secret away. 
Khvostoff fell and Rasputin's friends were backed 
by Beletzky, who became persona gratissima at 
Court. At last some of the Grand Dukes, mingling 
with all classes as they did, realized the grave danger 
of these abnormal conditions. They saw the abyss 
yawning at their feet. They, therefore, collec- 
tively addressed a signed letter to Nicholas, begging 
him to rid Russia of Rasputin. The answer of the 
Emperor was laconic : ' * I absolutely forbid any and 
all concerned to interfere in my private affairs." 
The answer was followed by the exile of the Grand 
Duke Nicholas-Michaelovitch, who was sent to his 
estates and forbidden to leave them. 

It was then that the assassination of Rasputin was 
decided upon as a positive necessity. 

The following details of his '* Execution" were 
given to me by one who took part in it : 

A few young people belonging to the most aristo- 
cratic circles of Petrograd, among them two mem- 
bers of the Imperial family, cousins of the Emperor, 



122 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

the Grand Duke Dimitri and Duke Igor, met at the 
palace of Prince Yousoupoff. Easputin was invited 
to the party. When he received the invitation, he 
at first refused it and only accepted when the young 
Prince Yousoupoff personally went to get him in his 
private car. There was an excellent supper and the 
party waS superficially most hilarious. Many of 
the guests not in the plot were dead drunk. Eas- 
putin, very drunk, began to dance as was his custom. 
At that moment the first shot was fired by the Prince 
Yousoupoff. Easputin, wounded, attempted to es- 
cape and, as he was a very powerful man, a terrific 
struggle took place. Finally he was struck down. 
There were eleven men in the plot and they all set 
upon the fallen man, repeatedly stabbing him wher- 
ever they could get knives or daggers into his face 
and body. The horribly slashed and irrecognizable 
body was covered with Easputin 's great cape, 
bundled into a motor car by three of the young men, 
and thrown into a canal outside Petrograd. The 
body was dragged out the next day. When the Em- 
press heard the news she went into hysterics; she 
burst into violent weeping, screaming wildly: 
"They have killed our only friend." Dressed as a 
Sister of Charity and accompanied by Mme. Wir- 
oubova — she visited one of the public hospitals of 
the city where all that was left of Easputin had been 
taken. She knelt beside the body and remained there 
a long time, praying. 



NICHOLAS II 123 

The next morning the remains of "the only 
friend" were removed to the Imperial residence of 
Tsarkoe-Seloe and buried in a plot of ground be- 
longing to Mme. Wiroubova. A church was imme- 
diately ordered to be built on the spot with the altar 
placed exactly over Easputin's grave. When the 
revolution broke out, however, the body was ex- 
humed and sent to Tobolsk, where it was buried 
very simply in the village where Rasputin was born. 

The Empress demanded that the assassins of Ras- 
putin should be punished in an exemplary way ; but, 
in view of the delicacy of the situation, the Emperor 
contented himself with sending Duke Dimitri to our 
army in Persia and Prince Yousoupoff — ^married to 
a Grand Duchess of Russia — he exiled to his estates, 
forbidding him to leave them. 

Thus Russia was finally freed from a highly dan- 
gerous personality. A curious detail was told me 
afterwards by one of Rasputin's intimates. Raspu- 
tin, it seems, had always foreseen a tragic death for 
himself and had said: '*If I die it will mean the 
end of Czarism for ever." 

Rasputin's power had lasted more than six years 
and, during this time, nominations to the highest 
posts in the Empire were made through his influence. 
The Chief of the Diocese of Petrograd, Teterem, an 
adventurer pure and simple and a man of the most 
depraved morals, had attained the highest rank 
solely on account of Lis friendship with Rasputin. 



124 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

A monk, by name of Varnava — a peasant without 
any education whatsoever — on the same account was 
made an archbishop. The Procurator of the Holy 
Synod, M. de Sabler, was Rasputin's Master of the 
Chamber. Count Kokowstzoff, having refused to 
ask favours of Easputin and having been instru- 
mental in getting him exiled to Tobolsk, lost his posi- 
tion as President of the Council solely through an 
intrigue engineered by Easputin. The nomination 
of Sturmer as premier was also Easputin 's work, as 
also was that of the infamous Protopopoff as Minis- 
ter of the Interior. The last named finally provoked 
the revolution. 

In domestic politics Easputin always pretended to 
defend the rights of the peasant classes, but in his 
heart of hearts he was in sympathy with all violent 
and reactionary principles. 

In foreign politics — for Easputin even had his 
dirty fingers in that pie — he was against the present 
war and worked for peace. 

As is obvious from the foregoing, Easputin *s 
tenure of power was solely due to the Empress. It 
was she who protected him, and who, for one reason 
or another, supported him against the wishes of the 
Eussian people, taking advantage of the Emperor's 
characteristic weakness in this connection, as in all 
others. 

Count Osten-Sacken, therefore, was quite right 
when he called the Empress ''tne Evil Fortune of 



NICHOLAS II 125 

Kussia." She was the chief cause and author of 
the fall of the Romanoff dynasty. 

At the beginning of the reign of Nicholas II the 
Grand Dukes still had certain parts to play, being 
the Heads of Departments in some of the Adminis- 
trative Bureaux. But, after a terrible verbal at- 
tack in the Duma by M. Goutchkoff, who was the 
first Minister of War after the revolution, the Grand 
Dukes — although maintaining their positions for a 
short time, to all intents and purposes lost them. 
Two of them, nevertheless, played prominent parts 
up to the very last days of the reign of Nicholas 11. 
These were the Grand Dukes Michael and Nicholas. 
The latter, — son of the Field Marshal of the Turk- 
ish war, had worked hard in the Military Academy 
and had the reputation of being a first-class cavalry 
officer. Brutal, and a hard drinker, he was by no 
means a favourite with the troops when he com- 
manded the Imperial Guard in Petrograd. Never- 
theless, when the Great War broke out, public opin- 
ion selected him almost unanimously as Commander 
in Chief of the army and, notwithstanding his de- 
sire to put himself at its head, the Emperor agreed 
to the wishes of the people. Despite his past, the 
Grand Duke soon became the idol of the masses. 
He had great force of character which pleased them, 
as they were weary of the feebleness and incessant 
indecision of the Emperor. His early triumphal 
march through Galicia added to his popularity. 



126 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

The Emperor became jealous of him and after the 
great retreat of the Russian army, dismissed the 
Grand Duke and took command himself. But the 
Grand Duke had not lost his popularity in the army, 
where it was perfectly well known that the ill-fortune 
of the Russian arms were not due to the Grand Duke, 
but to the treachery of the Minister of War and his 
intrigues. The Grand Duke Nicholas is, perhaps, 
the only member of the ex-Imperial family — ^with the 
exception of the Grand Duke Michael — ^who has not 
entirely lost a certain popularity.with the masses and 
the army. 

The Grand Duke Michael, only brother of the 
Emperor, morganatically married a divorced lady, 
Wolfins by name, whose husband was the Grand 
Duke's most intimate friend in his regiment. 
Grand Duke Michael carefully ignored all matters 
of state, but people who knew him well gave him a 
character of the utmost loyalty and integrity, dia- 
metrically opposed to that of his brother. During 
the Great War he commanded a Caucasian Division 
and it accomplished much. The dignified way in 
which he refused to accept the throne without the 
sanction of the people gained him their greatest 
respect. Nevertheless, it is doubtful even if a 
restoration took place — an extremely unlikely con- 
tingency — ^whether he could ascend the throne, as his 
morganatic marriage is a serious obstacle to his 
becoming Emperor. 



NICHOLAS II , 127 

The unpopularity of the other Grand Dukes with 
the nation is so notorious that their fate is sealed. 
It seems as if the Romanoff dynasty really ended in 
the person of Alexander III. 



CHAPTER VI 

FOEEIGN^ POUECY OF JSTICHOLAS II 
Relations with William II of Germany 

To review the foreign policy of Russia during the 
reign of Nicholas II it is necessary to begin with our 
relations with Germany. 

As has been explained already the death of Alex- 
ander III was a great relief to William II, Emperor 
of Germany. Feeling himself rid of this obstacle 
in his path, William hoped to revenge himself for 
imaginary humiliations in the past, and assume the 
role of protector and mentor to his successor. He 
relied upon the weakness of Nicholas II, but forgot 
the other characteristics of his flexible temperament. 
Moreover, the two Empresses having both come from 
small German Courts, were themselves in continual 
rivalry. 

The first interview of Nicholas and William, in 
1896, at Breslau, was a complete farce. A few days 
before the meeting a photograph of the two monarchs 
was circulated in Germany, it was said, by order 
of Emperor William, which represented the German 
Sovereign as almost a head taller than the Russian — 

128 



FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 129 

whereas they are about the same height. Nicholas 
was much displeased and an order was given the 
Eussian Embassy to buy the negative and, if pos- 
sible, all prints in circulation. This was a bad be- 
ginning. At the military review at Breslau, 
Nicholas, following the usual custom, wore a Prus- 
sian uniform, with the Grand Cordon of the Prussian 
Black Eagle. "William II naturally appeared in 
Prussian uniform, but did not wear the Grand 
Cordon of the Eussian Order of St. Andrew; more- 
over, William continually spurred his horse so that 
Nicholas II might not by any chance get ahead of 
him. All these seemingly trivial details did not 
escape the Eussian Emperor, and as a result the 
"raison d'etre" of the interview between the two 
Monarchs fell through completely. Nicholas went 
home feeling very bitter against his German neigh- 
bour and this sentiment was stimulated by the influ- 
ence of his mother and even of his wife who, though 
she was a German — ^had a pronounced personal 
antipathy for William II. 

A year after the meeting at Breslau, Nicholas went 
to Darmstadt and purposely went by a route which 
did not pass through Berlin. William, who had ex- 
pected another meeting to be held, this time in his 
capital, was furious. He complained bitterly of the 
matter to the Grand Duke Michael, great uncle of the 
Eussian Emperor, who happened to be in Berlin at 
this time. William was even more explicit to the 



130 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Count de Pahlen, Charge d 'Affaires during the ab- 
sence of Count Osten-Sacken. He spoke heatedly 
and angrily of his relations with the Eussian 
Sovereign, accusing him of rudeness in coming to 
'Germany without paying his respects to him, and 
carried away by his anger, went so far as to say: 
''Nikky is becoming impossible! He smokes ciga- 
rettes, plays tennis all day at Darmstadt and calls 
that ruling his nation. ' ' 

Count Pahlen reported this verbatim to Count 
Muravieff, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, who had 
accompanied the Eussian Emperor to Darmstadt. 
He, in turn, told the Emperor. In consequence, 
Pahlen had to resign his post in disgrace, and rela- 
tions between the two Sovereigns grew still less 
cordial. 

The German Emperor realized he had gone too 
far. He promptly went to Darmstadt and radiated 
with amiability, not only toward the Emperor and 
Empress, but also towards the Count of Hesse whom 
heretofore he could not bear. 

On his part, Nicholas pretended complete igno- 
rance of all that had happened at Berlin and was 
most courteous and agreeable, but the bad feeling 
between the two Monarchs was only veneered and 
was certain to show itself again at the first oppor- 
tunity. 

In the autumn of 1898 Nicholas again visited 
Darmstadt, having followed the same itinerary as 



FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 131 

before so as to avoid passing through Berlin. This 
time, the German Emperor insisted upon an official 
interview, and as Nicholas owed him a formal visit, 
he could not again avoid it. It was, therefore, de- 
cided that the Emperor and Empress should return 
to Petrograd via Potsdam near Berlin and stop 
over a few hours. This meeting turned out even 
worse than the previous one at Breslau. This time 
the greatest blame rested with Empress Alexandra. 

Two weeks before the meeting of the Sovereigns, 
Princess Golitzine, Grand Mistress of the Russian 
Court, wrote to Countess Osten-Sacken — the wife of 
the Eussian Ambassador in Berlin, asking if the 
German Court would wear mourning at the forth- 
coming meeting. The enquiry was somewhat 
strange. The Russian Court, as a matter of fact was 
in mourning for the Grand Duke George, — brother 
of the Emperor, — but, as he had been dead for ten 
months, the mourning worn was purely a family 
affair and therefore not at all obligatory on the Ger- 
man Court. The Countess Osten-Sacken however 
mentioned the matter to the Countess Brockdorf, 
Grand Mistress of the German Court. The answer 
returned was incisive: '^To receive the Empress 
of Russia the German Empress will wear her hand- 
somest gown and also all her jewels." 

Countess Osten-Sacken received from Princess 
Golitzine a second letter shortly after stating that 
''The Empress Alexandra of Russia insists that the 



132 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

ladies of the Russian Embassy wear full mourning 
at the forthcoming meeting. ' ' The Countess in her 
answer to this communication ''permitted herself to 
call attention to the fact that an order of this kind 
was somewhat contrary to diplomatic usage, which, 
— in matters relating to official mourning — demanded 
that the customs of the Court to which the Em- 
bassy was accredited must be followed." The Ger- 
man Court had, it is true, ordered three weeks of 
official mourning after the Grand Duke's death but 
these had elapsed many months previously. Count- 
ess Osten-Sacken expressed the fear that a Russian 
Embassy in mourning would have a bad effect, but 
Empress Alexandra, stubborn as usual, would listen 
to no excuses or arguments. 

In yet a third letter Princess Golitzine issued the 
order of the Empress to the ladies of the Embassy 
that they be dressed — "not in mourning, but in 
black. ' ' However, decollete dresses and pearls were 
permitted as ornaments, as a concession. 

The gala dinner was a rare spectacle. The Em- 
press of Germany appeared in a flaring yellow dress 
with the gorgeous and famous ruby and diamond 
head dress of the Crown of Prussia. The Russian 
Empress, on the other hand, wore a severely plain, 
entirely black dress trimmed with crepe and having 
no relieving colour at all. As ornaments she wore 
a single string of pearls alone. The ladies of our 



FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 133 

Embassy in their black dresses looked like splashes 
of ink in comparison with the dazzlingly brilliant 
costumes worn by the ladies in attendance on the 
German Empress. 

The dinner was a sombre affair. Ordinarily very 
loquacious and gay, Emperor William did not say 
one word, merely lifting his glass at the last in a 
silent toast to his Imperial guests. 

The departure of the Eussian Emperor and Em- 
press was arranged for 10 p. m. that night and it 
poured with rain. According to custom the two 
Ambassadors preceded the Imperial Party to the 
station in order to receive them. To my great as- 
tonishment, the Empress Alexandra came to the sta- 
tion accompanied by Countess Brockdorff ; the Em- 
press of Germany was brilliantly conspicuous by her 
absence. She had excused herself for not going to 
the station on the ground that the Prince Eoyal of 
Sweden was coming to see her that same evening and 
she had to change her dress ! The two Emperors fol- 
lowed later. I was standing near Count Osten- 
Sacken when Nicholas II approached, and in conse- 
quence, plainly overheard his conversation. He cer- 
tainly was by no means pleased, and did not attempt 
to hide or restrain his indignation. *'What an im- 
pertinence ! ' ' said he to the Ambassador. * ' The idea 
of allowing my wife to drive off with a Countess of 
God knows what ! Imagine making such an excuse 



134 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

as the fact that she had to change her toilette. ' ' And 
he again repeated angrily: "What an imperti- 
nence." 

It all seems very trivial, but it shows how trivial- 
ities affected the relations between the two sover- 
eigns, and in consequence it was but natural that the 
conversations which had taken place between Prince 
von Buelow, the German Chancellor, and Count 
Muravieff, the Eussian Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
could not make up for the increased lack of cordiality 
between the two Emperors. This state of affairs 
was destined to have disastrous results. His amour 
propre deeply wounded, Nicholas tried to annoy and 
hamper his German neighbour by every means in his 
power. Another seeming triviality is an excellent 
example of the character of the Monarchs. 

The German Emperor having appointed himself a 
Field Marshal of his army and belonging also to the 
Austro-Hungarian army. Emperor Franz Joseph 
sent an Archduke to present him with a baton as 
Field Marshal of the Austro-Hungarian army. As 
he was also attached likewise to the Russian armies 
with the rank of General it was natural that he should 
also be created Field Marshal of the Russian army — 
but the Russian Emperor only sent him, by the per- 
son of Prince Engalitcheff, Military Attache at Ber- 
lin, a pair of epaulettes with his rank inscribed 
thereon. The baton of Field Marshal was forgotten 
by the Russian Emperor! William was furious. 



FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 135 

He hnrried at once to our embassy and said to poor 
Count Osten-Sacken — ^who seemed ever fated to bear 
the blame of his master's caprices — ''Monsieur 
1 'Ambassadeur ! Will you be so kind as to explain 
to me what rank I have in the Russian Army? I am 
a General with the epaulettes of Field Marshal with- 
out possessing the insignia of that rank." 

A few months after this Nicholas sent him the 
coveted baton, ornamented with especially magnifi- 
cent diamonds. But the gift did not remove the 
unpleasant impression left in the German Emperor's 
mind. 

Here is another instance : The Emperor William 
was Honorary Colonel of two Russian regiments, 
both of them infantry. More than once he had ex- 
pressed a desire to become colonel of a cavalry 
regiment, — especially of Hussars. Count Osten- 
Sacken as well as our Military Attache at Berlin — 
made this desire known to the proper authorities in 
Petrograd and shortly after Nicholas appointed the 
German Emperor Colonel in a cavalry regiment — 
hut it was in a regiment that had figured largely in 
history in the taking of Berlin during the Seven 
Years ' War, when Prince Soltikoff, commanding the 
armies of the Empress Elizabeth, after having van- 
quished Frederick the Great at Kunersdorf, made 
his triumphal entry into the Prussian capital. This 
detail, small as it was, had a most unpleasant effect 
on the German Emperor, because he understood at 



136 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

once that the Eussian Emperor intended it is a 
sneering insnlt. 

On his side, Emperor William in his relations with 
the Eussian Court, gradually adopted a special sys- 
tem of his very own. He not only redoubled his ami- 
able attentions towards the Eussian Sovereigns, and 
named both the Emperor and Empress, Hon. Col- 
onels of the crack regiments of the Imperial Prussian 
Guards, but took his revenge in political fields. In 
these fields, provoked continually by the German Em- 
peror, and ceaselessly annoyed, the Eussian Emperor 
gave way on almost every occasion to his arrogant 
neighbour. Eussia lost heavily in these exchanges. 
We followed an entirely erroneous and false line of 
reasoning where Germany was concerned. Provi- 
dence had dealt us magnificent cards to play in the 
great game against the German Empire which even 
then was in a continual state of antagonism to Eng- 
land. Eealizing this and relying upon our alliance 
with France, we only had to exploit this unusually 
promising diplomatic situation and veer from one 
side to the other just as it suited us. We had only 
to follow the example of Prince Bismarck, who in his 
day had built his policies on Eusso-English antagon- 
isms. But Nicholas' character, was not sufficiently 
determined to follow a consistent policy of any kind. 
In the first years of his reign he exasperated William 
II by continually attacking and slighting his amour 
propre, only later to make amends in the political 



' FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 137 

field by making him all sorts of ridiculous conces- 
sions at his slightest request. Acquiring the habit 
of seeing Nicholas always ready to give way to him 
in the fields of diplomacy, the Emperor William 
naturally believed he could go to any lengths. It is 
clear that our relations with Germany, under such 
conditions would eventually conclude with a rupture. 

A few of the Eussian statesmen tried to stop 
Nicholas following such a fatal policy. Count Witte 
and Count Osten-Sacken both did their utmost. But 
their efforts were in vain. Count Witte fell into 
disgrace and the activities of Count Osten-Sacken 
were reduced to smoothing over as much as possible 
the mistakes which were the direct result of the per- 
sonal feeling between the two Emperors. If Count 
Witte had remained in power, it is more than prob- 
able that a rupture could have been avoided without 
any humiliation for Russia. Germany might not 
have dared plan her coup so deliberately. 

One day after war had been declared Witte asked 
me: ''Do you believe if I had remained at the head 
of the government and Count Osten-Sacken had been 
in Berlin that Germany would have dared to en- 
courage Austria in her designs on Serbia?" 

Knowing the official mind of Berlin and the per- 
sonal ascendancy Witte undoubtedly held over the 
German Emperor, I could only answer in the nega- 
tive. Unfortunately Count Witte had lost his in- 
fluence at the Russian Court and the cabinet at 



138 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Petrograd continued its highly dangerous policy of 
continually giving way to Germany. In Count 
Witte's days of power we had successfully resisted 
the Bagdad railway project, which had been designed 
to open oriental ports to Germany. We had ob- 
tained a large financial representation for ourselves 
and France in this enterprise. When Witte fell into 
disgrace, and Count Osten-Sacken, ill and tired out, 
was only a shadow of his former great self, M. 
Sazonoff, Minister of Foreign Affairs, promised Ber- 
lin to link Teheran with Bagdad by a railway to be 
built by Russia at her own expense ! Nothing of the 
fear of Russia which had existed in Berlin in the 
days of Alexander III remained. The German 
statesmen spoke of us in the most cynical terms. 
For instance, M. von Miquel — the famous revolu- 
tionary of 1848 and the none the less famous Minister 
of Finance in Prussia — said to me personally: — ''I 
do not at all agree with my Emperor, on questions 
of our colonial policies. Our expansion along such 
lines needs a great commercial fleet and that, in turn, 
would necessitate our having a very large war fleet 
adequately to protect it. I have expressed my fears 
to the Emperor that our present colonial policy can 
very well get us into serious and grave complications 
with England. Why, I asked the Emperor, hunt for 
colonies across the seas when we have so fine a one 
as Russia at our very doors'?" 

Such words prove how much ground we had lost 



FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 139 

in Berlin in a few years of not only essentially bad 
but also weak policies and diplomacy. The exploita- 
tion of Russia by our near neighbour advanced with 
rapid strides. German factories absorbed most of 
the orders given for our military and naval neces- 
saries — to the great detriment of France our ally. 
When the slightest obstacle arose to Russian orders 
being placed in Germany, the Emperor William II 
hastened unofficially to Russia to attend to it. In 
other words, he then played the part of a commercial 
traveller seeking to dispose of his wares. On these 
flying trips to the Russian court he would arrive, 
laden with presents of toys for the Imperial chil- 
dren and compliments for every one. He would then 
obtain what he wanted from Nicholas and disappear 
as suddenly as he had come. At the same time, as 
our military and naval forces were rapidly growing 
from day to day, thanks to the enormous orders 
placed in Europe, and especially in Germany, Wil- 
liam began to seek means of paralysing our fast in- 
creasing powers. He found such means at last in 
the Far East. It has often been claimed in Ger- 
manophile circles in Russia that our war with Japan 
was due to the cunning of British diplomacy. This 
is a great calumny. Our war with Japan was due to 
the folly of a few of our statesmen and to adventur- 
ers, such as Bezobrazoff — who were grouped about 
them. But, if any foreign influence is to blame for 
the Russo-Japanese War, that influence, I do not 



140 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

hesitate to say, was the German Emperor's first, last 
and all the time. 

He very cleverly flattered the amour propre and 
vanity of Nicholas II and urged Russian extension in 
the Far East. About a year before the beginning of 
hostilities, while William was visiting our ex-Sover- 
eign in the Gulf of Finland, he hoisted — on his de- 
parture — the signal : ' * The Admiral of the Atlantic 
salutes the Admiral of the Pacific. ' ' 

Our rupture with Japan throws a great deal of 
light on the policy and character of Nicholas II. 

When our relations with the Empire of the Rising 
Sun became strained, thanks to the exploitations of 
the forests along the Yalu River (by the clique of 
Bezobrazoff — a new favourite of Nicholas), Prince 
Ito — a few months before the outbreak of the war — 
came to Petrograd. He was a strong advocate of an 
entente with Russia, but imposed certain conditions, 
especially in regard to Korea. He pleaded his cause 
in our official circles and found supporters in both 
Count Witte and Count Lamsdorff, who was then 
our Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prince Ito insisted 
principally upon the cessation of the activities of the 
Russian company which was exploiting the Yalu 
River districts. He stated that two policies were 
open to Japan: 

(1) That of an entente with Russia, and 

(2) That of an alliance with England. 

He added that he guaranteed an entente with 



FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 141 

Russia on condition that Korean atfairs between his 
country and ours were rearranged, as Japanese in- 
terests in Korea were being threatened by Bezobra- 
zoff and his clique. Despite the efforts of Witte and 
Lamsdorff the Bezobrazoff clique proved too strong. 
Prince Ito left Petrograd as no one would listen to 
him and went at once to London. Passing through 
Berlin he paid a special visit to Count Osten-Sacken 
and told him — evincing great emotion — of the non- 
results of his visit to Petrograd. As Prince Ito was 
to stay two days in Berlin, our Ambassador trans- 
mitted to Count Lamsdorff his conversation with the 
Jananese Statesman in the hope that the Imperial 
Government might, at the last moment, be prevented 
from making the fatal plunge. But Count Osten- 
Sacken 's telegram was never even answered! The 
Emperor refused to make up his mind. Bamboozled 
by the German Emperor he believed Japan would 
never dare fight Russia. 

Prince Ito, therefore, continued on his way to 
London, where the Anglo- Japanese Alliance was then 
and there concluded. 

When, finally, our relations with Japan passed 
from bad to worse, the German Emperor made a 
great point — and in great haste — of warning our 
Ambassador in Berlin that — although he would main- 
tain his neutrality in case of a Russo-Japanese war, 
Russia could absolutely rely upon the friendly sup- 
port in every way of Germany ! The Emperor said 



142 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

among other things, ''I constitute myself herewith 
your Guardian of the West." It is said that Count 
Witte asked at the time: ** Against whom will he 
guard us on the West?" When finally war was de- 
clared the German Emperor, as a matter of fact, did 
not cease from overwhelming us with his attentions ; 
his actions even had a bad effect in Tokyo. 

At the same time, presumably following the adage 
of making hay while the sun shone, the German Em- 
peror affirmed through his diplomatic representative 
at Petrograd, that it was thanks to his personal ef- 
forts Austria-Hungary had not profited by the op- 
portunity created by our Far Eastern complications. 
The German Emperor had his plans carefully laid 
and made us pay heavily for his more than academic 
support, by a commercial treaty which was dis- 
astrous to us, so that, through this war, our indus- 
tries were at the mercy of the German factories, 
our fleet was destroyed and our military forces 
paralysed for many years to come. 

Such was the German Emperor's game — and it 
must be admitted, he played it well. 

Later, the German Emperor made great use of the 
situation thus created in his Moroccan policy towards 
France, of which I shall speak fully later on. 

After the conclusion of our war with Japan, seri- 
ous troubles — as is well known — burst out in Russia. 
Out of these the Emperor William made capital so 
as again to have a close understanding with Nicholas. 



FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 143 

He even offered the use of the German fleet in case 
the revolution in Kussia assumed dangerous propor- 
tions, and went so far as to offer a German battle- 
ship to Nicholas, in case he should wish to leave 
Eussia. 

Personally speaking, this idea of a German alliance 
with Russia was nothing new to me. When I was 
Secretary at our Embassy in Berlin, despite the 
chilly relations which existed between the two Mon- 
archs, the Emperor William had the idea firmly fixed 
in his mind and was convinced of its value. This is 
proven by the following incident : — 

One day the Emperor William arrived at our Em- 
bassy in a great state of excitement. He had again 
been wounded in his amour propre by Nicholas. He 
complained of the Russian Emperor, talking rapidly 
and loudly, as was usual with him under such cir- 
cumstances, and getting more and more mixed up in 
the things he said. He finished by making threats 
against Russia. Accustomed, however, to similar 
outbreaks. Count Osten-Sacken remained perfectly 
calm and did not reply. When William came to the 
end of his tirade, completely out of breath, he 
shouted : — 

''Well, have you nothing to say?" 

And Count Osten-Sacken answered: 

"Absolutely nothing, Sire. All that you have said 
you cannot do and you know it as well as I do." 

**But, Osten-Sacken," snapped the Emperor, 



144 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

* 'You forget that I have my Alliance. ' ' (Referring 
to his alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy.) 

''Well, what about your Alliance," returned Osten- 
Sacken, smiling, "Do you really know, Sire, of what 
your Alliance consists? It is an alliance of a force 
with a weakness and an inconsequential thing." 

Startled by this retort, William paced up and down 
the room several times without answering, then ap- 
proaching Osten-Sacken suddenly he went very close 
to him and said : 

"Very well, do you want an alliance of two 
Powers?" 

Naturally he meant Russia and Germany and — 
also naturally — knowing full well that the interests 
of his ally, Austria-Hungary, were opposed to those 
of Russia, he was ready to sacrifice Austria-Hungary 
then and there. 

In his inner consciousness he was convinced that 
England, far more than France, was his greatest 
enemy with whom he might one day have to reckon. 

It is to this conviction of the German Emperor 
that one must look for the reasons, — with the excep- 
tion of economic interests, — for his efforts to ob- 
tain a very close alliance with Russia. Our rap- 
prochement with England had been a staggering 
blow to him. Iswolsky, who was responsible for 
that rapprochement, was ever after William's de- 
tested "bete noire." But he still hesitated — despite 
the Anglo-Russian Entente — to show himself f rankij' 



FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 145 

hostile towards Kussia. I am very sure that with 
cleverness Nicholas ought to have beaten William at 
his own game, but to do this the Russian Sovereign 
would have had to change his character entirely. 
Our foreign policies were made and changed from 
day to day without any definite programme, and our 
statesmen — chosen by Nicholas — for this work, were 
none of them equal to the great delicacy of the situa- 
tion and the magnitude of their duties. The same 
stupid procedure existed in all the other government 
departments in Eussia. The gravest questions were 
answered in the morning, and these answers changed 
again by night. 

After the Eusso-Japanese War, Eussia was face 
to face with the problem of rebuilding her destroyed 
fleet. It was evident that it was especially import- 
ant to do this quickly. A man named Zacharoff — 
Graeco-Eussian by birth, a French subject, very rich 
and the representative of the great English firm of 
Vickers Maxim in France, — conceived a project for 
the rapid rebuilding of the Eussian fleet. This con- 
sisted in syndicating all our naval work in France 
and England, who would thus be responsible for the 
building of a considerable war fleet for Eussia in a 
space of from five to eight years. The Anglo-French 
banks indicated on their part that they would furnish 
the necessary moneys at four and one-half per cent., 
which was to be repaid in fifty years. Monsieur 
Loubet, ex-President of France, was nominated as 



146 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

President of this dual syndicate. Through the in- 
termediation of M. Goremikine, Zacharoff presented 
his project to Emperor Nicholas. The latter ac- 
cepted it in principle, warmly thanked Zacharoff and 
conferred a high Decoration upon him. 

It was decided that on his next visit — then soon to 
occur — to France, the Emperor Nicholas would meet 
Loubet and arrange the final details of the combina- 
tion. Owing to the susceptibilities of President 
Fallieres, Loubet did not have an audience with 
Nicholas while he was at Compiegne on the occasion 
of his visit. A promise was, however, given to 
Loubet that he would be received by the Eussian Em- 
peror at Cowes, where Nicholas was going after his 
visit to France. But, probably because of the in- 
trigues going on all this time in Petrograd among 
those who wished to see the new fleet built in Russia, 
in order to keep the vast amount of money thus ex- 
pended in the country, Nicholas changed his mind as 
usual — and the interview with Loubet at Cowes 
never took place. All the plans made by Zacharoff 
were thrown aside and went for nothing. 

During the whole reign of Nicholas, minister suc- 
ceeded minister to posts of responsibility with be- 
wildering rapidity. The Eussian Emperor had nine 
Ministers of Foreign Atfairs during his reign and 
fifteen, or more, Ministers of the Interior. In the 
latter part of his reign especially, the Ministerial 
portfolios had become veritable political ** killing" 



FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 147 

places. Ministers were placed in power for no rea- 
son known to any one and dismissed in the same 
manner. For instance, Monsieur de Sturmer, who 
had never known of or had anything to do with the 
foreign policies of Russia, was suddenly made Min- 
ister of Foreign Aifairs, only to be dismissed a few 
months later. 

There were in the Ministry of the Interior men like 
Maklakoff (not to be confused with the Ambassador 
appointed to Paris, January, 1918) who was ap- 
pointed solely because his manners had pleased the 
Emperor while the latter was travelling with him 
and who remained several years in office, much 
against public opinion and the open hostility of the 
Duma, because he amused the Emperor's children 
and made the Empress laugh! 

In the nominations of ministers their own politi- 
cal ideas played no part whatsoever ! Unfortunately 
it must be confessed that the greater number of 
Nicholas' ministers were ''Arrivistes," that is to 
say, men who thought only of gaining a public career 
and to whom a consistent policy meant nothing at all. 
Their sole idea was to follow the caprices of their 
master's mind. Under the circumstances, it was 
perhaps natural. 

The relationship between the Court and the Duma, 
or Parliament, left much to be desired. The fa- 
mous Constitutional Manifesto of October, 1905, 
which had instituted the Duma, was grudgingly made 



148 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

by the Emperor; extorted from him, indeed almost 
forced from him by Count Witte at the time of the 
first outbreak of the first revolutionary movement. 
For this he never forgave Count Witte. 

From that time Nicholas continually nagged at the 
clauses of this Manifesto. When the Duma opposed 
him in any way, it was dismissed at once and with 
extraordinary facility. Before the dissolution of 
the first Duma, the situation had been carefully 
thought over before any steps were taken. Later, 
however, and especially during the present war, to 
dissolve the Duma was mere child's play. 

Finally, there was nothing at all left of the famous 
Manifesto! The only article of the Constitution 
which remained in force was No. 84, which gave all 
customs duties to the Crown in case of dissensions 
with the Duma, or during its holidays ; and enabled 
the Crown to govern the Empire under what was 
known as the twelve provisions. Advantage was 
taken of this article 84, which chiefly concerned the 
budget, to govern the nation autocratically. 

Besides the influence over Nicholas II held by the 
Empress Alexandra which degenerated into omnipo- 
tency during the last twelve years of his reign, the 
Eussian Emperor was inclined to listen to the advice 
of the Courts of Darmstadt and Coburg, and, at the 
beginning of his reign, to that of Denmark. The 
influences of these three Courts played an important 
part in our relations with Germany. 



FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 149 

Nicholas II was very affectionate in Ms relations 
with his relatives at Darmstadt and Coburg. These 
relatives cordially detested the Emperor of Ger- 
many, who returned their sentiments in kind and re- 
garded them with doubt and suspicion. The repre- 
sentatives of these two Courts amused themselves 
by underlining and emphasizing the ridiculous sides 
of William's character. These petty tricks were 
not unwelcome to Nicholas II, whose own character 
was flexible and unstable and who himself greatly 
enjoyed teasing and annoying others. 

His influence had ceased at the Danish Court on the 
death of his grandmother Queen Louise. This old 
sovereign, the "Mother of Kings" as she was always 
known, had a very powerful personality and charac- 
ter and cordially detested Germany and its ruler in 
every fibre of her being. She never forgave Prussia 
for despoiling Denmark of Schleswig-Holstein in 
1864. William knew this, but could do nothing to 
remedy it. When he learned of the death of the old 
Queen, he came to our Embassy in Berlin and said 
to Count Osten-Sacken : — "Monsieur I'Ambassadeur, 
I extend my most profound condolences." Then he 
added : — ' ' Now that I have fulfilled my official duty, 
you surely do not expect me to cry about it, do you?" 

To sum up : When he came to the throne of Rus- 
sia, Nicholas II had all the gifts necessary to become 
a great Sovereign. His weak character, his lacka- 
daisical manner of attending to affairs, combined 



150 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

with the disastrous influence of the Empress Alex- 
andra had as their direct and fatal result the fall of 
the Eomanoff dynasty and led to the state of anarchy 
in which Russia afterwards wallowed. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE AEEIVISTES 

Russian Diplomats and the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire 
During the Reign of Nicholas II 

DuKiNG the twenty years of his reign, Nicholas II ap- 
pointed the following Foreign Ministers : — 

1. Monsieur de Giers 1894-1895 

2. Prince Lobanoff-Rostowsky 1895-1897 

3. Count Muraviefe 1897-1901 

4. Count Lamsdorfe 1901-1906 

5. Monsieur Iswolsky 1906-1909 

6. Monsieur Sazonoff 1909-1916 

7. Monsieur Stunner 1916-1917 

8. Monsieur Pokrowsky 1917-28th Feb. 1917 

To this list must be added two diplomats — Mon- 
sieur Chichkine and Monsieur Neratoff who directed 
foreign affairs for a certain time, the former, after 
the death of Prince Lobanoff and the latter during 
the incumbency of Sazonoff, while the Minister was 
ill for a year. The frequent change of minister^ 
was not caused by any change in the foreign policy 
of the Empire, for, fundamentally, Nicholas II him- 
self pretended to be the foundation of Russia's 
diplomacy. The changes were due either on account 

151 



152 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

of the death of the minister, as in the case of Prince 
Lobanoff and Count Muravieff, or to intrigues at 
Court. 

Monsieur de Giers had been Assistant Minister to 
the famous Prince Gortchakov, the last man who held 
the title of Chancellor in the Russian Empire, in the 
closing years of the reign of Emperor Alexander II 
who died in 1881. After Gortchakov 's death in 1883, 
when I entered the diplomatic service of my country. 
Monsieur de Giers was appointed Minister of 
Foreign Affairs by Alexander III. He held that 
office during the whole reign of that monarch, and 
Nicholas inherited him from his father. 

Monsieur de Giers essentially belonged to the old 
diplomatic school of Europe of the 19th century. 
An accomplished stylist, he was a supporter of the 
old methods, whereby all matters relating to foreign 
policies were exclusively attended to by the diplo- 
matic chancelleries of Europe, the work of which 
was most carefully hidden in the archives of the 
official residences. He was thoroughly impregnated 
with the political ideas which predominated during 
the reign of Alexander II. The alliance of the three 
Emperors of Russia, Germany, Austria, formed his 
political creed. He founded his policy on that of 
Metternich and entertained a passion for Prince Bis- 
marck, being very proud of the friendship which 
existed between the great German statesman and 
himself. He accepted the Russian entente with 



THE AERIVISTES 153 

France with ill grace, as it was against his own 
wishes, hopes and convictions. He feared future 
complications and his entire diplomatic activities had 
ever centred in endeavouring to avoid any changes 
which might bring about the complications he 
dreaded. 

I have remarked that his whole political system 
was based on the motto of the Duchess of Offenbach 
— ''Above all no scandal in my beautiful castle," 
(Surtout, pas de scandale dans mon beau Chateau!), 
but it would be unfair to leave the impression that 
Monsieur de Giers was a man of little mental calibre 
and capability. On the contrary, he was very subtle 
and clever. While I was at the Russian Embassy in 
Berlin I was able to study him carefully, through 
his correspondence with our ambassadors. In this 
mass of diplomatic correspondence, all of a very 
confidential nature. Monsieur de Giers very often 
revealed himself as a statesman. His successors 
would have done well to study carefully his letters 
as they would have found therein many useful hints 
and ideas together with many profound reflections, 
of which they could have made good use. Of course, 
during the reign of Alexander III — an autocrat par 
excellence — Monsieur de Giers to a certain extent, 
filled the position of his especially chosen private 
secretary. He had a certain influence with his Sov- 
ereign, who honoured him with his esteem. But in 
all matters relating to foreign affairs. Monsieur de 



154 EECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Giers instructed the younger men in the diplomatic 
service on the same general principles as were laid 
down by Prince Gortchakov. Such instruction natu- 
rally proved useless in the face of modern conditions 
and Russian diplomacy suffered accordingly. Un- 
fortunately the evil effects of this system have not 
been eradicated even to the present day. 

In order to be a good diplomat, it was necessary 
to be thoroughly conversant with the French lan- 
guage and know how to use it, and to join the diplo- 
matic service it was necessary of course, to pass cer- 
tain examinations. These, however, were only a 
comedy. The examiners were heads of bureaux in 
various departments of the Ministry and, for the 
most part, having grown grey in the service, they 
had for many years completely forgotten the details 
of the knowledge which was required of the younger 
men, such for example, as a working knowledge of 
history, geography, statistics and political economy. 
By custom the fate of those facing this examination 
had already been decided before they filled in their 
papers with their answers. One might be a veritable 
well of information and yet not be accepted ; or be a 
complete ignoramus, and yet succeed in entering the 
diplomatic service. Intrigue was the main influence 
in the examiner's choice of a future Talleyrand. A 
word from this or that Grand Duchess had great 
effect. 

The nucleus of the diplomatic service was the 



THE ARRIVISTES 155 

Chancellery of the Foreign Ministry personnel. 
Monsieur de Giers called it his ''Guard." As I was 
a member of this Chancellery I can explain of what it 
really consisted. There was nothing done there but 
calculations and copying work, and woe betide the 
young man who dared show any desire of further 
instructing himself by studying diplomatic papers! 
One day, in the autumn of 1885, 1 remember wishing 
to study Bulgarian affairs more closely as they were 
at that time in a very chaotic condition. I was pre- 
vented from doing so and earned the reputation of 
being a man who needed watching ! On another oc- 
casion, the Chief of the Chancellery, Prince Obol- 
ensky, to whom I said I did not understand the gist 
of a dispatch that I had been instructed to translate 
into the secret code, answered sharply: ''This is 
as it should be. You must please remember that the 
best secretary is he who understands nothing. You 
will succeed if you profit by this hint ! ' ' 

It is, therefore, not astonishing that such a school 
contributed very little to the formation of a brilliant 
Eussian diplomatic corps. The young men in this 
profession arrived at foreign posts without any 
knowledge whatever. 

Furthermore, all appointments were made through 
patronage and with the help of friends at court. 
Our Embassies were thus filled with young men who 
might have done very well at Court, but who knew 
nothing of the basic principles of diplomacy. When 



156 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Monsieur Iswolsky became Foreign Minister he tried 
to change this sorry state of affairs. A University 
diploma became essential before an aspirant could 
hope to attain any position in the Foreign Ministry. 
But intrigue prospered even more than before for 
Iswolsky lent himself to intrigues of all kinds. 

Prince Lobanoff had a very strong character, but 
even he had to allow for court intrigue. When he 
informed me of his decision to send me to Berlin, he 
said: "Above all things, do not mention your ap- 
pointment before it is officially published. Spokes 
might yet be placed in my wheel if you do. ' ' 

As the health of Monsieur de Giers was very poor, 
he surrounded himself with men weaker than himself 
who could not be used to replace him. When finally 
he resigned, his successor. Prince Lobanoff, found 
only a lot of nonentities in the chancellery. 

Prince Lobanoff did not resemble Monsieur de 
Giers in the least ; he was firm, resolute and authori- 
tative and had behind him a long diplomatic career. 
He had been Ambassador in Constantinople, London 
and Vienna. At the last place he stayed seventeen 
years. He was at the zenith of his power when he 
was seventy-five years old. There had, however, 
been an interregnum in his service when he was 
thirty- two and was Minister in Constantinople, (at 
that time Eussia had no Ambassador in Turkey). 
He there fell in love with the wife of a secretary of 
the French legation, ran away with her and fled to 



THE ARRIVISTES 157 

Eussia, without having asked for leave from the 
Minister of Foreign Affairs. A fine scandal 
promptly resulted. It was said that Prince Gortcha- 
kov, at that time Chancellor, on learning of the af- 
fair and knowing that the object of Prince Lobanoff 's 
love was ugly, shouted: — *' Could he find nothing 
better than that?" Prince Lobanoff had to resign 
from the service. However, thanks to his personal 
relations, he was appointed Assistant Minister of 
the Interior and remained in that post until his ap- 
pointment as Ambassador to Constantinople during 
the reign of Alexander III. 

Prince Lobanoff was an avowed enemy of Ger- 
many and had a pronounced personal antipathy to- 
wards the German Emperor William II. He 
dreamed of encircling the German Empire by an 
alliance between France, Eussia and Austria-Hun- 
gary. In this scheme he had many supporters all 
of them as convinced of its feasibility as himself. 
Before being appointed Foreign Minister, he was 
nominated as Ambassador to Berlin. The German 
political world was startled by Ms nomination as his 
sentiments towards Germany were well known in 
Berlin, and it was an open secret that the Emperor 
"William had accepted the appointment of the Prince 
very reluctantly. The resignation and death of 
M. de Giers, however, prevented Prince Lobanoff 
becoming Ambassador as he was then appointed to 
the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs. 



158 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

The news of this burst like a bombshell in Ger- 
many. German politicians mentioned the name of 
Lobanoff in awed whispers, and, indeed, the strength 
of our new Minister was soon visible. All Germany 
felt we had returned to the days of Alexander III, 
and Emperor William again became of little import- 
ance. At Constantinople, German policy revolved 
round that of Russia. At Vienna, where they had 
had the opportunity of studying the character of 
Prince Lobanoff, the diplomats kept quiet. In 
Paris, — the Prince was an ardent admirer of France 
— universal appreciation was expressed. 

Prince Lobanoff first set to work to restore order 
in Balkan affairs. In Bulgaria, Prince Ferdinand 
of Coburg reigned, but was not recognized by the 
Powers — with the exception of Austria. It was 
necessary to put an end to this abnormal condition. 
Lobanoff himself wanted Russia to recognize Ferdi- 
nand, but wished him to take the first step. He ob- 
tained the assistance of the famous Russian journal- 
ist, Tatitcheff — author of the Histories of Alexander 
II and Alexander III — ^who had at one time been 
secretary of our Embassy in Vienna. Tatitcheff 
went to Marienbad in Bohemia, where he met Prince 
Ferdinand, whom he knew intimately, and succeeded 
beyond all expectations. Ferdinand wrote an apolo- 
getic letter to the Emperor Nicholas blaming himself 
for his previous policy of inaction and asking for- 
giveness. He promised that his son Boris should 



THE ARRIVISTES 159 

enter the Orthodox Church and also from that time 
onwards to follow and maintain a policy agreeable 
to and conforming with the views of Eussia. 
Nicholas then recognized Ferdinand as Prince of 
Bulgaria and consented to become the godfather of 
Prince Boris, when he was baptized into the Ortho- 
dox Greek Church. 

Eussia thus won a diplomatic victory of consider- 
able importance, and, despite the fact that this vic- 
tory was a defeat for Austria-Hungary, Germany's 
ally, the cabinet at Berlin expressed itself as agree- 
able to Petrograd's policy. This was the first fruit 
of the moral ascendancy exercised by Prince Loban- 
off over Germanic diplomacy. 

It was Prince Lobanoff, among others, who advised 
Nicholas II to begin his visits to allied and friendly 
countries by passing through Austria-Hungary. He 
did not wish, as yet, to encourage Emperor William 
by any great show of friendliness and the latter had 
to be content with a visit paid, not to Berlin, but to 
Breslau, which was after an official visit had been 
paid to Austria-Hungary. 

Had Prince Lobanoff lived the interview, which 
has already been described, would certainly not have 
taken the turn it did, and the consequences would not 
have been so disastrous. But, unf ortuately for Eus- 
sia, Prince Lobanoff died very suddenly in the Im- 
perial train while returning to Petrograd from Aus- 
tria. The Empress Alexandra, as I was told by a 



160 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

witness, cried bitterly. As she had the reputation 
of being an out-and-out German it seems curious she 
should have betrayed so deep an emotion at the death 
of a statesman who all his whole life, had been abso- 
lutely hostile towards the land of her birth. I think 
the explanation lies in the fact I have previously 
mentioned, that while the Empress was essentially 
German, she was by no means a Prussian, and that 
she was very far from having her heart completely 
filled with her Imperial husband. 

The death of Prince Lobanoff placed Nicholas II 
in a cruelly embarrassing position. In a few days 
he was due at Breslau, and, knowing but very little of 
his diplomatic personnel, he did not know what to 
do, or whom to appoint as Lobanotf's successor. 
Finally the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. 
Chichkine, had to accompany him. On arriving at 
Breslau and descending from the Imperial train, 
Chichkine ran to me, crying: ''Dear Monsieur de 
Schelking, do not abandon me. I know nothing. I 
am lost ! ' ' Which were brave and promising words 
from a diplomat placed in such an important posi- 
tion ! 

Naturally, the German Emperor and his suite paid 
Chichkine every attention. This tickled his vanity 
to such an extent that he immediately concluded he 
would become Minister of Foreign Affairs. In con- 
versation with Count Osten-Sacken he said: ''Do 
you know, my dear Count, it seems that in Berlin 



THE ARRIVISTES 161 

they want me to succeed Lobanoff." When telling 
me later of this conversation, the Count added: **I 
can well believe the Germans would be overjoyed to 
see such a fool at the head of our Foreign Office ! ' ' 

However, Chichkine fortunately never became our 
Foreign Minister. Count Muravieff succeeded 
Lobanoff. His appointment was wholly unexpected. 
The new Minister had occupied in former days, as 
an official in the diplomatic service, many important 
posts. He had spent five years in Paris as First 
Secretary and had also been Councillor to the Em- 
bassy in Berlin for ten years, but he only held one 
post, as Minister to Denmark, in which no official was 
directly over him. This last post was of no great 
importance as it was out of the path of high politics 
and the more serious affairs of Russian diplomacy. 
Muravieff had the reputation of being rather igno- 
rant, having never graduated from a High School, or 
University. From the archives of the Embassy at 
Berlin I was astonished to find that during his ten 
years as Councillor there he had only written three 
letters in his own handwriting and these, written in 
French, were full of grammatical and constructional 
errors. On the other hand he had a good deal of 
common sense, and extraordinary self-assurance, the 
last being his chief characteristic. 

On his way to assume office in Petrograd he had 
to pass through Berlin. I never remember having 
seen a man happier than he was at that time. He 



162 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

radiated sunshine. In his delight he was eager to 
do everybody a kindness and sent for each of us 
secretaries in turn and asked us our ambitions, say- 
ing he would see that our wishes were granted. Our 
Ambassador gave a banquet for him, to which came 
the chiefs of the diplomatic world of Berlin with the 
Imperial Chancellor, Prince Hohenlohe, and Prince 
von Buelow at their head. It so happened that 
Count Muravieif 's luggage had gone astray and he 
had to appear at dinner in his travelling suit. He 
was not in the least embarrassed and showed perfect 
confidence in himself and the impression he was 
going to make on our Ambassador's guests. In his 
conversation with Hohenlohe and Buelow he steered 
a very clever course, hiding his own ignorance of 
affairs and avoiding all dangerous subjects with 
consummate craft. 

Diplomatic circles in Berlin were not displeased at 
his appointment. His good qualities and his weak- 
nesses, which later Berlin proposed to exploit, were 
well known there. Emperor William, however, was 
not at all pleased. Count Muravieff, when Council- 
lor in Berlin, always posed as a great admirer of the 
German Emperor and the latter had shown him 
special favour. He had given him a large signed 
portrait of himself, and added some very flattering 
words over the signature. But William learnt later 
that Muravieff, while at Copenhagen — a Court which 
much disliked the German Emperor — >had made fun 



THE ARRIVISTES 163 

of him to please his entourage. Ever after he was 
hostile to Muravieff. 

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Muravieff was 
faithful to but one person and that was himself. He 
had little real personality, was very careless and re- 
markably trivial. How recklessly he treated the 
very serious problem of Kiao-Tchao has already been 
mentioned. In many other matters, just as serious, 
he acted in the same way. His sole preoccupation 
was to cling to his office as long as possible. He had 
known how to win the sympathies of Empress Alex- 
andra by means small in themselves, but large in 
results. He used to play at being a horse on his 
hands and knees with the Imperial children, which 
with other similar tricks pleased the Imperial Couple. 
As he fully appreciated the weak character of 
Nicholas II, he became a flatterer of the boldest kind 
in order to gain his own ends and in his policies was 
usually most successful in guessing his Imperial 
master's mind. 

At this time the personal relations between the 
Eussian a-nd German Emperors were very strained. 
Instead of endeavouring to smooth over matters 
Muravieff added fuel to the flames and in conse- 
quence Russo-German relations became steadily 
worse and worse. 

Realizing his own ignorance of diplomacy, Mura- 
vieff selected as his Assistant Minister, Count Lams- 
dorff, who, having spent his whole life in the Foreign 



164 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Office, was a regular mine of information. The 
Archives contained nothing he did not know. Mura- 
vieff constantly consulted him and he astonished the 
Emperor by his official reports, so great an under- 
standing and intimate knowledge did they display of 
existing conditions and circumstances. Of course, 
he took very good care not to tell the Emperor that 
all his information was supplied by Lamsdorff. 

The Eussian Emperor could hardly have chosen a 
less profitable Foreign Minister. His own irresolu- 
tion and weakness found no guiding and saving hand 
in the personality and powers of Count Muravieff, 
who, during his tenure of office had no steady policy, 
and no visible objective. His policy degenerated 
into a mere series of vacillations. His enemies 
worked hard to bring about his downfall and had all 
but succeeded when he died very suddenly. His 
valet found him in his study lying on the floor with a 
gash in his temple, which had been caused by his head 
coming into contact with the sharp edge of a low 
stool when he fell. In Petrograd, it was rumoured 
that he had committed suicide, being unable to bear 
the disgrace of dismissal which he knew was soon 
coming. Personally I do not believe this to be the 
case. As a young man Muravieif had been more 
than partial to women and wine and had sown a fine 
crop of wild oats. Despite his advancing years he 
appeared to enjoy the harvest when he returned to 
Petrograd. He had a mistress whom he visited 




HERR VON BETHMANN-HOLLWEG 



THE ARRIVISTES 165 

every day, and he used to drink a quart bottle of 
champagne every night before he went to bed. Such 
habits were not conducive to a long life, and probably 
too great satisfaction, rather than dissatisfaction 
with himself carried him off. 

Count Lamsdorff, who succeeded him, was abso- 
lutely his opposite in temperament and character. 
Nicholas II, The Unreliable, could always be relied 
upon to appoint ministers whose characters and opin- 
ions had not the slightest resemblance to their prede- 
cessors. Thus Russian policies were continually 
chopping and changing. Although far better edu- 
cated than Muravieff and with an intensive knowl- 
edge of affairs of state, Lamsdorff was very narrow 
minded and small of soul and lacked the saving grace 
of Muravieff — common sense. He was a religious 
bigot. Women had never played any part in his 
life and consequently rumour gave him the reputa- 
tion of being a pervert. He lent colour to these 
rumours by showing great favouritism to some of the 
men about him who were for the most part, strikingly 
handsome young men. 

At that time there was attached to the Chancellery 
a very handsome young man, Savinsky by name, who 
held the minor position of Third Secretary. Lams- 
dorff noticed him and chose him as his travelling 
companion in the Crimea when the Emperor went to 
Livadia. Savinsky returned from this short voyage 
a Gentleman of the Chamber and Second Secretary. 



166 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Only a few months later he was made First Secre- 
tary. Lamsdorff wished to make him Master of 
Ceremonies at Court but found himself strongly op- 
posed by Count Hendrikotf, then Grand Master of 
Ceremonies. Lamsdorff insisted! He went so far 
as to threaten to present his resignation to the Em- 
peror in case his protege was not appointed. As 
usual, Nicholas gave way and consented to Savin- 
sky's appointment. 

One day, at a gala performance in honour of the 
visit to Petrograd of the German Emperor, Savinsky 
fulfilled the duties of Master of Ceremonies. Dur- 
ing one of the entr 'actes Emperor Nicholas, turning 
to Admiral Lomen, his aide-de-camp, who told me 
the story, said to him: ''Point out Countess Lams- 
dorff to me." He meant Savinsky!!! The Em- 
peror showed that he felt something was wrong, but 
this did not prevent him appointing Savinsky his 
minister at Stockholm and, later, at Sofia, where he 
remained until the declaration of war. 

Prior to his appointment as Foreign Minister 
Lamsdorff had never been beyond the confines of 
Eussia, not even on a pleasure trip. H'e visited 
Central Europe for the first time when he accom- 
panied the Emperor to Compiegne, in France. 

Lamsdorff was popularly known as a rubber 
cushion such as invalids use in an inflated form. He 
had been Secretary and Vice-Director of the Im- 
perial Chancellery, under Prince Gortchakoff; later 



THE ARRIVISTES 167 

Director- in-Chief of the Chancellery; then First 
Councillor under de Griers, and Prince Lobanoff, and 
finally Assistant Minister under Muravieff. The 
regime he instituted at the Ministry became paternal 
in its effects. He was surrounded by nonentities, 
but he was sure of them and had known them for 
many years. 

In his policy, Count Lamsdorff — having been a 
great admirer of Monsieur de Giers — ^used his meth- 
ods to avoid complications. While carefully keeping 
up the friendly feeling and intercourse which existed 
between Eussia and France, he also did his best to 
better our relations with Germany. The result of 
his policy was apparent during the Eusso-Japanese 
War. The Berlin Cabinet at that time surrounded 
us with favours, and Emperor William sealed this 
Nero-Platonic friendship with us by a commercial 
treaty which was disastrous to our industrial inter- 
ests. Later he inveigled the Emperor Nicholas into 
the extraordinary secret treaty concluded at Bjoerke 
which the Czar afterwards repudiated. This treaty 
when published by the Maximalists after the revolu- 
tion caused quite a sensation. 

Count Lamsdorff was frankly hostile to the war 
with Japan, and acted with great courage and hon- 
esty in this matter. He presented a long memoran- 
dum to the Emperor, later published by the famous 
Eussian revolutionary, Monsieur Bourtzeif. In this 
memorandum he called serious attention to the 



168 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

grave dangers of any policy which would provoke or 
annoy Japan, as the well-known Yalu River Com- 
pany with Monsieur Bezobrazoff, a new favourite of 
Emperor Nicholas ''S at that time, at its head, was 
doing. Count Lamsdorff concluded this memoran- 
dum by stating his open opposition to an anti-Jap- 
anese policy, with almost brutal frankness and 
threatening to resign if it were continued any fur- 
ther. Nicholas II refused to accept his resignation 
and promised amendment, but the activities of the 
Yalu River Company in no way lessened, and the 
Russo-Japanese War was the result. 

At first sight it seems strange that Count Lams- 
dorff gave proofs of such real statesmanship. The 
key to the puzzle is to be found in the reports which 
passed between Count Lamsdorff and Count Witte. 
The latter, whose greatness was so little appreciated 
by Nicholas II, was the originator of the policy of 
Lamsdorff, by whom he was constantly consulted. 
Lamsdorff had sufficient acumen to make himself 
Witte 's mouthpiece and the latter 's fall was dis- 
astrous to Lamsdorff's calculations. The Emperor 
knew perfectly well of the two men's relations and 
the credit with which the Foreign Minister thought 
he had covered himself suffered severely in conse- 
quence. Lamsdorff fell into disgrace and died soon 
after. 

The Emperor's choice of his successor fell upon 
Monsieur Iswolsky. 



THE ARRIVISTES 169 

Iswolsky had been Secretary of the Consulate at 
Philippopolis in Bulgaria; Secretary in Ronmania, 
Washington and Copenhagen; and as Official Agent 
in Rome renewed the intimate relations between Rus- 
sia and the Holy See — ^which had been severed for 
many years. He had also afterwards been our first 
representative at the Vatican, and then was Minister 
at Belgrade, Munich, Tokyo and Copenhagen. He 
had graduated from the Imperial Alexandre Lyceum, 
with honours, receiving a gold medal — and even at 
that time his comrades prophesied he would eventu- 
ally become Minister of Foreign Affairs. He had 
always dreamed of obtaining the post of Ambassador 
to Berlin and intrigued a great deal to secure it, but 
though he failed in this he achieved the higher office 
as had been prophesied. 

Incontestably very intelligent, with the very wide 
outlook and broad point of view of the real states- 
man, he had, however, two great faults : a limitless 
ambition and a snobbishness which amounted to a 
disease. In order to further his ambitions and his 
career he would hesitate at nothing. 

When he was First Secretary in Roumania he 
fought a duel with a Roumanian Officer, Lapteff by 
name. '*A diplomat who fights, is equal to a soldier 
who does not," Prince Gortchakoff had once said. 
This principle was always one of the rules of the 
Russian Foreign Office ; but Iswolsky cleverly knew 
how to make use of the duel to further his interests. 



170 EECOLLBCTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

The cause of the duel had been a woman, but he let 
it be understood at Petrograd that, in reality, he 
had fought to defend the honour of his Imperial 
Master who — he claimed — had been insulted by his 
adversary. His version was believed and he was 
created a Gentleman of the Chamber, and, as he 
could no longer remain in Bucharest because of this 
contretemps, he was transferred to Washington. 

Iswolsky only had a very small fortune of his own 
and he spent the whole of it in the United States in 
order to make a good impression in Washington, 
Newport and Bar Harbor Society. All his friends 
made sure that he would marry an American heiress, 
but Iswolsky preferred to be transferred to Copen- 
hagen, w'here he married Countess Toll, daughter of 
our Minister to Denmark, whose parents were very 
high in favour with Alexander III. The Emperor 
himself was one of the bride's witnesses and on the 
day of his wedding Iswolsky was made Chamberlain. 

For the honeymoon he chose a visit to Eome. He 
well knew of the existing state of affairs between 
Eussia and the Pope, and hence decided to make a 
trip there to look into the matter — in a purely private 
and speculative way. From Rome he sent a long 
memorandum to the Foreign Office which was very 
much liked and he was appointed, at first, semi-offi- 
cial Representative of Russia at the Pope's Court, 
and soon after, Minister-Resident to the Holy See. 
This was really the beginning of his fine career. 



THE ARRIVISTES 171 

His snobbishness at least equalled his ambitions. 
A great name was a divine endowment in his eyes. 
Of an unpleasing physical appearance he neverthe- 
less thought himself irresistible where women were 
concerned. He also believed that after Bismarck he 
was the greatest diplomat in the world ! 

After having been Minister of Foreign Affairs, he 
was made Ambassador to Paris and there had to 
receive the various members of a Eepublican govern- 
ment, which, to him, was torture. He preferred to 
associate with Dukes and Princes ; but, of course, his 
position as Ambassador necessitated his throwing 
open his drawing rooms to powerful Eepublicans. 

Monsieur Briand, who was then Minister of Jus- 
tice before being made President of the Council, 
knew Iswolsky's weakness in this matter very well. 
For that reason he avoided all invitations to the Rus- 
sian Embassy. When he became President of the 
Council, however, he could no longer refuse an invi- 
tation which was personally sent to him on one occa- 
sion by the Russian Ambassador. He went and was 
received by Madame Iswolsky, who said to him: 
"Monsieur Briand, it would seem that you have no 
pleasure in coming to us." Briand answered, '*0h, 
Madame, surely not as much in coming, as you have 
in asking me." 

On another occasion when he was giving a fete 
to which all classes were asked and, of course, all 
the members of the French Government, the Russian 



172 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Ambassador was particular that the Duke of Ven- 
dome, a member of the Royal Family of France, 
should be present. This was not easy to accomplish 
as the members of the French Royalty studiously 
avoid coming into any contact with the Republican 
government representatives. Iswolsky therefore 
went to his British colleague, Sir F. Bertie, and the 
following conversation took place between the two 
Diplomats : 

''I want very much to have the Duke of Vendome 
present at my reception," said Iswolsky. 

''Well, why don't you ask him?" queried Sir 
Francis Bertie. 

"What would you do were you in my place?" 
Iswolsky insisted. 

''I wouldn't ask him at all," said the British Am- 
bassador. 

''But why then advise me to do so?" 

"Because that sort of thing amuses you, whereas 
it bores me," replied the British Ambassador. 

Many other anecdotes of a similar character 
floated about the Paris salons and were most annoy- 
ing to our Ambassador as they made him appear 
ridiculous. Iswolsky 's snobbishness was very ap- 
parent when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs and, 
combined with his colossal self-assurance, made him 
follow a policy very dangerous for Russia. The an- 
nexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (1908-09) under- 



THE ARRIVISTES 173 

mined his position and was a striking example of his 
self-assurance. 

In September, 1908, Iswolsky was taking a holiday 
abroad and was invited by Count Berchtold — Am- 
bassador of Austria-Hungary at Petrograd — to 
come for some shooting to his castle at Buchlau, in 
Bohemia. Iswolsky accepted the invitation and 
there met Count Aerenthal, Minister of Foreign Af- 
fairs of Austria-Hungary. Count Aerenthal had oc- 
cupied for many years the post of Ambassador to 
Russia, and, very naturally, knew intimately our 
Minister of Foreign Affairs. Berchtold did things 
in a big way. Iswolsky was royally received at 
Buchlau. Knowing the tastes of his guest, a whole 
galaxy of lovely women were present, and it was 
there that was discussed the question of the annexa- 
tion of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was to begin an 
era of complications in the Balkan Peninsula which 
had as their result the two Balkan Wars and 
— indirectly — began the present world war. 

Iswolsky stayed at Buchlau from the 19th to the 
22nd of September. On the 23rd of September, the 
Minister was hunting in Austria with a friend, Prince 
Windichgraetz, and, on the 25th, he arrived at Ter- 
gensee, near Munich, where he owned a villa. I was 
at Tergensee at this time as I too owned a villa there, 
not far from his. On the 26th of September Iswol- 
sky, chancing to meet me while we were out walking, 



174 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

begged me to come and see him, saying: ''I have 
a very serious matter to discuss with you." 

At that time I was correspondent of the Novoie 
Vremya, in Paris and naturally hastened to comply 
with his invitation. 

Iswolsky made me his confidant on several matters 
of high importance, of which I took copious notes. 
He told me that Count Aerenthal had approached 
him with regard to the annexation of Bosnia-Herze- 
govina by Austria-Hungary. The Austrian Minister 
had assured him that he personally was entirely 
against the annexation which might entail grave 
complications, of which he was well aware. But,; 
he added, the question would nevertheless, in all 
probability, be discussed by the parliamentary meet- 
ing of delegates at Budapest in about ten days or 
two weeks' time. The Austro-Hungarian Minister 
did not hide from Iswolsky that the delegates ''de- 
sirous of spreading sunshine about the last days of 
the old Emperor — so beloved all his life," might 
very well vote for the annexation under the cir- 
cumstances. Finally Aerenthal had bluntly asked 
Iswolsky this question: ''What would be said in 
Eussia should the annexation become a fait ac- 
compli?" 

Iswolsky told me he had answered: "It would 
most certainly be an ugly matter. Naturally we 
would not go to war about it, but would demand 
adequate compensations. ' ' 



THE ARRIVISTES 175 

Our Minister then enumerated these compensa- 
tions. They would include the declaration of the 
independence of Bulgaria; territorial concessions 
to Montenegro; an outlet for Serbia on the Adri- 
atic, and, finally a settlement of the questions relative 
to the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, in a way that 
would please Russia. Aerenthal promised his sup- 
port and once more emphasized the fact that he was 
personally against the annexation and that he would 
oppose it at the meeting of the delegates. Iswol- 
sky then carefully explained to me his reasons for 
his answers to Aerenthal and told me that we were 
not ready to open the Balkan question with all its 
ramifications, as great danger would arise were we 
to show ourselves unalterably opposed to the an- 
nexation. 

''To protest it officially," he said, ''we should 
have to be strong enough to uphold our protest 
by force, if necessary. A mere protestation might 
easily become a severe diplomatic defeat and this I 
wish to avoid. ' ' 

The Minister concluded by asking me to send a 
telegram to my newspaper ''to prepare Russian 
opinion for the eventuality of the annexation of 
Bosnia-Herzegovina. ' ' 

I told him that it would be impossible for me to 
do this. "If," said I, "I should send my informa- 
tion in the form of a conversation that I had at 
Tergensee with a Russian statesman, it would nat- 



176 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

urally be at once known that you must be the man 
and so this would not accomplish your ends. On 
the other hand, were I to publish news of so grave 
a character without giving my source of information, 
my editors might very possibly withhold its publi- 
cation. ' ' 

I then proposed that he should make use of our 
official telegraphic bureau, and send a telegram 
containing the news he had just given me. He 
agreed to this and the next day I submitted the tele- 
gram that I had drawn up over night. He made a 
few changes at first, but afterwards re-wrote it in 
his own hand. This message I personally sent to 
Berlin to my successor at the Russian Embassy, 
Monsieur Van der Vliet, asking him at the same time 
to hand it to Monsieur Markoff, the representative 
of our official telegraphs in Germany. In my letter 
which went at the same time to Van der Vliet, I con- 
fidentially told him the source of this very grave 
information. The telegram I sent was published in 
all Russian papers, and reproduced in all the well 
known European newspapers. It had the effect of 
a bomb, and unloosed a Russian press campaign of 
the most violent and bitter character. 

On the 27th of September I had another long in- 
terview with Iswolsky. I asked him if he could 
answer for the concurrence of the European Cab- 
inets in the matter of the projected compensations. 

Iswolsky seemed to be absolutely sure of the Cab- 



THE ARRIVISTES 177 

inets of Rome, Paris and London. As for that of 
Berlin, lie thought it would follow the diplomatic 
action of Austria-Hungary; and this was all ar- 
ranged for between Aerenthal and himself. 

Naturally he had communicated with Aerenthal 
with regard to these negotiations, and had also given 
his own ideas to Emperor Nicholas. He proposed 
to the Emperor that he (Iswolsky) should go to 
Rome, Paris, London and Berlin to sound political 
sentiment in these capitals. The Czar accepted his 
proposal and on the 29th of September Iswolsky 
started on his journey. 

The King and Queen of Italy and their suite, being 
at the time at Raconidge, a castle of theirs near Tu- 
rin, Iswolsky went there first. He was accompanied 
by Madame Iswolsky. The King and Queen greeted 
him warmly. He was given the Grand Cordon of St. 
Maurice and Lazare, and Madame Iswolsky was paid 
marked attention by the Queen. Very much grati- 
fied with his pourparlers with the Italian statesmen 
Iswolsky left Italy and reached Paris the first of 
October, 1908. 

That same day Monsieur Pichon, then Minister 
of Foreign Affairs in Paris, in a conversation with 
Iswolsky regarding the annexation said to him that 
according to reports he had received on the Balkan 
situation from the French representatives in Sofia, 
the annexation was already an accomplished fact in 
principle; that it would be preceded by the an- 



178 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

nouncement of Bulgarian independence and that 
Prince Ferdinand would assume the title of Czar. 

Iswolsky would not believe it, although he too had 
similar reports to those of Monsieur Pichon, which 
had been sent to him by Monsieur Sementovsky, our 
Minister at Sofia. 

For Iswolsky to admit that these items of informa- 
tion were correct, was to admit his defeat at the 
hands of Aerenthal! Iswolsky 's colossal self-es- 
teem, always to the fore, would not permit any such 
thing, so he denied the truth of the reports, and tried 
to make himself believe that all was well. But he de- 
nied things that were self-evident to any one. 

On the evening of October 1st he received a tele- 
gram from Sementovsky in Sofia, telling him that 
the Proclamation of Bulgarian Independence would 
be issued the next day! This news was confirmed 
by our Ambassador at Vienna, to whom Iswolsky 
frantically telegraphed and the Ambassador added 
that the annexation would follow the proclamation, 
that is to say, within a very few days. And so it 
happened. On October 2nd Prince Ferdinand of 
Coburg proclaimed the Independence of Bulgaria, 
and assumed the title of Czar, and on the 4th Octo- 
ber the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina was a 
fait accompli! 

It is evident that Count Aerenthal completely and 
successfully duped Iswolsky at the Buchlau meet- 
ing. It is possible that the treaty between the Dual 



THE ARRIVISTES 179 

Monarchy and Bulgaria was made after ^swolsky's 
visit to Count Berclatold. Naturally, this treaty was 
projected long before this, but Count Aerenthal 
feared a rupture with Eussia, knowing full well that 
Germany might possibly not uphold her ally, Austria- 
Hungary, as she was not at all ready at that date to 
begin the European War (October, 1908). 

But Iswolsky, having imprudently assured Berlin 
that Russia would not make war, and would be con- 
tent with adequate compensations, Aerenthal had 
absolutely a free hand. Furthermore, as Iswolsky 
had told him the compensations Russia would expect, 
Aerenthal, wishing t-o embroil his Russian colleague 
as deeply as possible in order that he might have 
the least possible success, won a signal victory by 
hurrying on the Bulgarian Proclamation with his 
Government's concurrence, and made it appear as 
if Austria-Hungary and not Russia had determined 
on Bulgarian independence of Turkey. 

Bulgaria played Austria-Hungary's game by not 
referring the question to Russia who up to that 
time had stood sponsor for Bulgaria in Europe. As 
to the other compensations demanded by Iswolsky, 
Aerenthal, once the annexation was accomplished, 
proposed to present them formally to the other For- 
eign Chancelleries, and this he did. 

Of course Iswolsky was undone, and in a terrible 
rage. He decided nevertheless to continue his 
pourparlers in Europe on the matter of compensa- 



180 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

tions as he thought the only thing left for him to 
do was to fight matters out to the bitter end. 

The French Cabinet promised him its fullest sup- 
port, but the great problem was to win over the 
British Cabinet in the very delicate questions of the 
Bosphorus and Dardanelles, and the Berlin cabinet 
in the matter of Serbia and Montenegro, whose af- 
fairs were intimately connected with those of Ger- 
many's ally, the Dual Monarchy. 

Iswolsky therefore hastened to London to begin 
operations. He was received in the British capital 
with great cordiality, but when he touched upon the 
question of the Dardanelles, he was quickly told that 
this matter could not be decided hurriedly. He was 
assured, however, that in principle the British Cab- 
inet had nothing against passing a resolution on the 
Serbian question which would not antagonize Ber- 
lin, though it would first be necessary to find out the 
status of public opinion in England. It seemed evi- 
dent that the reply of the British Government was a 
refusal, disguised in polite terms. 

From London Iswolsky intended to go to Berlin. 
He sent a telegram to Count Osten-Sacken asking 
him to advise with the German Emperor as to the 
possibility of his (Iswolsky 's) seeing him. 

I have referred to the fact that William did not 
like Iswolsky, and he decided that now was the 
favourable time to humiliate the Russian statesman. 
He knew perfectly well that Iswolsky had not sue- 



THE ARRIVISTES 181 

ceeded in London, so he sent word to Iswolsky that 
he was very busy with the festivities attendant upon 
the marriage of his son, August Wilhelm, and asked 
him if he would come to Berlin after the ceremonies 
were over. The intention of the German Emperor 
to wound Iswolsky was evident, for, under normal 
circumstances he would of course have invited our 
Foreign Minister to Berlin and the festivities. 

Iswolsky went to Baden-Baden, and conforming 
to the Emperor's wishes, returned to Berlin a week 
later. 

I was in the German capital at this time, and had 
been able to satisfy myself completely and accurately 
as to the sentiment in both official and public Ger- 
many. I knew perfectly well how greatly German 
political circles feared a war then. Aerenthal's 
startlingly brusque action had been severely con- 
demned by all parties, and relief was only felt when 
it was known that Russia, too, did not wish for war, 
and that she would not provoke one. 

It was only then that the German Foreign Office 
decided to press Austria-Hungary further into the 
matter, and at the same time, if possible, to force 
a diplomatic defeat on Russia. I knew Herr Stein, 
Editor-in-Chief of the Frankfurter Zeitung, inti- 
mately, who was persona gratissima with Prince von 
Buelow. He confided to me that the Emperor would 
avoid discussing politics with Iswolsky. I did not 
hesitate to transmit this information at once to our 



182 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Foreign Minister, who was very doubtful if it were 
correct. But it was true, for on the very day of 
Iswolsky's arrival in Berlin, he was asked to a 
family luncheon at the palace. The Emperor 
broached all sorts of subjects, with the eo&ception of 
the political situation of the day. 

Prince von Buelow later gave a banquet in honour 
of his Russian colleague, but he too avoided delicate 
questions, and refused to allow the conversation to 
impinge on political questions in the slightest way. 
Among those present at this dinner were the high- 
est court functionaries, and a veritable host of 
beautiful women. It was only at the last moment 
on the day of Iswolsky's departure that the Ger- 
man Chancellor came to see him to discuss politics. 
It was seven o'clock at night, and Iswolsky's train 
left at eleven. To his great disappointment, this in- 
terview did not at all satisfy our Minister of Foreign 
Affairs. When he began to speak of *' compensa- 
tions," Prince von Buelow said that Germany had 
nothing to do with the question, and that she was 
not interested, advising him at the same time to 
take up the matter directly with the cabinet at 
Vienna. 

Our Minister's defeat was complete! 

On his return to Russia he fought the entire press, 
which had started a very vicious campaign against 
him. On the other hand he tried to continue the 
struggle against Aerenthal. Endless negotiations 



THE ARRIVISTES 183 

between them followed, to such an extent that Berlin 
decided to put a stop to them. 

In the early part of March, 1909, Count Pourtales, 
the German Ambassador at Petrograd, came to see 
Iswolsky, and handed him a sort of ultimatum. 

Germany had had enough ! Fearing complications 
she demanded formally that the annexation of Bos- 
nia-Herzegovina he at once recognized hg Russia 
without ang reservations whatsoever. 

Iswolsky had to consent, and his discomfiture was 
complete. His snobbishness and his incredible ego- 
ism had ruined him. 

In the salons of Petrograd he was given the sou- 
briquet of ''The Prince of the Bosphorus." In his 
conceit Iswolsky could not see that he was being 
mocked, accepting the nickname with pleased smiles. 
The Russian press continued its vitriolic attacks on 
him, and his many enemies did their utmost to un- 
dermine his position. His final disgrace was first 
and foremost due to the matter of the Bosnia-Herze- 
govina annexation, though his resignation did not, 
however, take place until a year later. 

It would be unjust, however, to judge Iswolsky 
solely by the bad blunder he made in the Balkan 
question. Despite his faults he had without doubt 
the stuff in him of which statesmen are made. Per- 
suaded as he was that our relations with Germany 
had undergone a serious change, he tried to replace 
them by other diplomatic combinations. 



184 EECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

He undertook pourparlers with the London Cab- 
inet on the Persian Question, which had always been 
the danger point in our relations with Great Britain. 

In 1907 he concluded an understanding with the 
London Cabinet which had as its object the delimita- 
tion of the zones of Russo-Anglo influence in Persia, 
and by so doing, paved the way for an eventual com- 
plete rapprochement with England. He followed 
this treaty by an entente with Japan, an entente the 
value of which proved itself thoroughly at the out- 
break of the present world war. 

Viscount Motono completed this understanding by 
his Treaty of 1916^ — which was published in January, 
1918, by the Maximalists, and which made such a stir. 

The foreign policy of the Russian Empire changed 
completely. Our relations with Germany were still 
correct, but the secular traditions which had existed 
between Petrograd and Berlin disappeared into the 
vistas of the past. We now swam openly in British 
waters. The Anglo-Franco-Russo Entente took the 
place of the old Tri-Emperor Alliance. Iswolsky 
was the real founder of Russia's new policy, which 
was continued by his successor^ Monsieur Sazonoff. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE WHIRLPOOL 

SazonofPs Policy: Russian Action in the Balkans. Bulgaria, 

Serbia and Roumania. Foreign Influence on Russian 

International Policy 

Finding himself attacked on all sides by the press, 
and by his enemies, and seeing the foundation of his 
power crumbling away under his feet, Iswolsky ap- 
pointed Sazonoff Vice-Foreign-Minister in the hope 
that he would secure the support and influence 
of Stolypin. But his hope proved vain. A few 
months later Iswolsky was made Ambassador to 
Paris, and Sazonoff became Foreign Minister. 

Monsieur Sazonoff thus owed his career partly to 
Iswolsky, whose secretary he had been at the Holy 
See in Rome, and partly to the fact that he had 
married the sister of Mme. Stolypin, when Stolypin 
was Preside it of the Ministerial Council and om- 
nipotent in the Empire. 

I knew Sazonoff intimately. He had been my col- 
league in the Foreign Office where our desks were 
opposite each other. We had both been appointed 
Imperial Chamberlains in the same year, and made 

185 



186 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

our debut at the Court at the same time in March, 
1898, at Moscow during the Imperial Visit to the old 
capital. 

The new minister of Foreign Affairs — although 
not nearly so intelligent as his predecessor — was 
by no means stupid. He was chiefly handicapped by 
lack of experience. His whole experience had been 
gained in London and at the Holy See, and included 
only one appointment as a Minister of Russia — that 
of Resident Minister to the Papal Court. 

As Chief of the Foreign Office at first he was mod- 
est, and showed himself eager to learn, allowing him- 
self to be guided by his brother-in-law Stolypin. But 
he gradually became stubborn and insisted on dis- 
playing his own abilities, especially after the assas- 
sination of Stolypin. His successes in the Dmna 
completely spoiled him. The Liberal party gave 
him credit for being progressive and when the war 
broke out the deputies, who, with but few exceptions, 
were not at all partial to our existing foreign policies, 
credited him also with our understanding with Great 
Britain, and with Italy. Each time that Sazonoff 
appeared in the Duma he was received with vocifer- 
ous applause. This was the climax which completely 
turned his head. He believed himself to be another 
Talleyrand. In making decisions he refused to 
listen to any advice tendered by others, seeming to 
consider he was above criticism. Zinovieff the elder, 



THE WHIRLPOOL 187 

our ex-Ambassador to Constantinople and a diplo- 
mat well-known in all European Capitals for his in- 
telligence, said to me : 

''I never see Sazonoff any more. He does not talk 
over affairs these days! He decrees/' 

But notwithstanding his self-assurance, Sazon- 
off was quite amenable to the influence of the For- 
eign Ambassadors accredited to Petrograd. 

Before the Great War, Sazonoff naturally endeav- 
oured to carry on Iswolsky's policies, especially 
where England was concerned. But at the same 
time he was carefully watching Berlin, and shortly 
before the war he concluded with the Berlin Cabinet 
an entente regarding Persia, which, as I have already 
explained, was in my opinion very humiliating for 
Eussia. He promised to link Teheran and Bagdad 
by rail at our expense ! In this way we completely 
lost our influence in Persia. In the south our under- 
standing with England gave the British a definite 
sphere of influence in the empire of the Shah, and in 
the north, where England had given us a similar 
sphere, Sazonoff by this railway allowed the Ger- 
mans to penetrate. 

But his lack of experience and his unfortunate 
self-confidence were still more apparent in his Balkan 
policy. 

In the month of April, 1912, Serbia and Bulgaria 
concluded an offensive and defensive alliance. This 



188 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

treaty had been first submitted, and received Rus- 
sia's sanction. It was obvious that this alliance 
had Turkey in view, and that war would ensue. 

I was then in the Balkans as special correspondent 
of my paper (The Birjevia Wiedemosti — the larg- 
est daily in Petrograd) and had stayed for several 
weeks in Belgrade. From my conversations with 
Prince Alexander, heir to the Serbian throne. Mon- 
sieur Paschitch, President of the Siberian Council, 
and also with Monsieur de Hartwig, our Minister in 
Serbia, probably the best informed men on the Bal- 
kan situation, I had gained the firm conviction that 
Serbia was at that moment ready for war, that this 
was quite understood and agreed to by Montenegro, 
and that Sofia was to give the signal which would 
precipitate war. Later when I was in Bulgaria my 
conviction was confirmed. I was perfectly certain 
war would break out very shortly. More than that, 
on the 24th of July, 1912, I sent a telegram to my 
paper in which I predicted that hostilities would be- 
gin about the end of September. This telegram was 
quoted everywhere at the time and subsequent events 
proved I was right. On the 2nd of October, 1912 
(modern style) the first shot was fired by Monte- 
negro. 

I had exceptional means of information because 
my brother-in-law, (Sementovsky), had been Minis- 
ter of Sofia for many years. He and his wife were 
very popular there, enjoying an exceptional position 



THE WHIRLPOOL 189 

in political circles, and being very friendly with Czar 
Ferdinand. I also had met the Czar of Bulgaria be- 
fore, and when I arrived in Sofia immediately called 
formally at the palace. Two hours later I was vis- 
ited by Monsieur Dobrovitch, chief of the Czar's 
private information bureau, and his right hand man. 
Dobrovitch welcomed me in his master's name, and 
added that Ferdinand wanted to see me, and would 
like to know how long I intended remaining in Sofia. 
Knowing my answer would be reported verbally to 
the Czar, and having had experience of his little 
idiosyncrasies, I answered: 

*'To have the great honour of being received by 
your Sovereign I have decided to stay in Sofia weeks, 
months, years, and to die here, if necessary." 

Shortly afterwards, Dobrovitch visited me a sec- 
ond time. He told me that Ferdinand would receive 
me on the following day, but asked that our conver- 
sation should not be published in my paper. I in- 
sisted, however, and Dobrovitch sent me word in 
the evening that the Czar consented to the publica- 
tion of an interview on the condition that it was 
first submitted to him as censor. 

Ferdinand received me privately and the Queen 
was the only one present at our interview, which 
lasted two and a half hours. The Czar was most 
agreeable, and recalled many circumstances of our 
previous meetings, spoke with seeming affection of 
Prince Lobanoff, of Nicholas II, of Count Osten- 



190 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Sacken, and with Ms usual enthusiasm for science, 
art and music — in short, he touched upon all possible 
subjects of conversation — with the exception of that 
which interested me the most, the political situation 
of the moment. It was only when I rose to make 
my adieu, that he said to me : 

* ' You have just come from Serbia, — what are your 
impressions?" 

I answered that the eyes of the Serbians were fas- 
tened on the royal palace of Sofia, whence the word 
of command was expected. I added that it was 
sufficient to have conversed with Prince Alexander, 
with Paschitch, and with Hartwig to realize opinion 
in Belgrade. At Sofia, I continued, it was not so 
easy. I had there interviewed a dozen statesmen 
all of whom were no doubt intelligent, but who all 
seemed to hold different points of view. 

The Czar smiled, and turning to the Queen, said 
to her: 

* ' You hear what the Baron has said to us, Madame ! 
You and I, too, know something of these matters!" 
and he gesticulated as if he carried a heavy weight 
on his shoulders. 

My interview with Czar Ferdinand and with his 
ministers confirmed the information I had gathered 
in Belgrade, and I reported accordingly to my paper. 
When the report was published M. Sazonoff was vis- 
iting European capitals. He was absolutely certain 
that war would not ensue and so expressed himself 



THE WHIRLPOOL 191 

strongly in Paris and London. In speaking of the 
new Balkan Allies he said : 

**They will never dare!" 

When he reached Berlin he learned that war had 
been declared and said to his intimates : 

* ' The hounds have slipped my leash. ' ' 

On his return to Petrograd I met him at the rail- 
way station of Tsarkoe-Seloe, the residence of the 
Emperor, where we were both staying. Sazonoff 
asked me into his carriage to ride with him to Petro- 
grad. 

''Where the devil did you get your information?" 
he asked abruptly. 

My answer greatly astonished him. 

' ' From exactly the same source as you could have 
had it just as easily. More especially of course, 
thanks to Hartwig. You, however, did not agree 
with Hartwig, and did not follow his line of reason- 
ing, preferring to listen to the reports of Nikludoff, 
(who had succeeded the late Sementovsky as the Rus- 
sian Minister at Sofia). Naturally as you did not 
want war, you only listened to those who were of the 
same opinion and desires." 

It must be admitted that on the outbreak of hos- 
tilities, Sazonoff knew how to get out and keep out 
of trouble. 

Relying on our understanding with France, he suc- 
ceeded in forcing Austria-Hungary to recognize two 
principles : 



192 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

The disinterestedness of the great European 
Powers in the war, and 

(2) The non-limitation of the theatre of war in 
the Balkans. 

Austria-Hungary evacuated the Sanjak of Novi- 
bazar, a Turkish Province she had militarily occupied 
since the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 
thus permitted the Serbs to join with the Monte- 
negrins. 

It is certain that Germany, and especially Austria- 
Hungary, were convinced the Slavic Balkan alliance 
would be crushed by Turkey, but when the victori- 
ous Serbs reached the shores of the Adriatic Vienna 
received a severe shock. 

Count Berchtold, at that time Austro-Hungarian 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, promptly proposed a 
conference of the Powers to discuss Balkan problems, 
and Sazonoff was weak enough to accept this pro- 
posal. The conference took place, and resulted in 
the evacuation by the Montenegrins of the city of 
Scutari which they had occupied by force of arms ; 
the creation of Albania as an independent state but 
naturally dependent on the Central Powers with a 
German Prince, (Prince Wied), as Sovereign; and in 
the retirement from Durazzo on the Adriatic of the 
unfortunate Serbs. The Serbians retired — nay, 
were forced into Macedonia. Bulgaria shrieked 
''Treachery," and a second Balkan war — this time 



THE WHIRLPOOL 193 

between the Allies of the previous day — broke out in 
1913. 

On one of my previous visits to the ex-Prime Min- 
ister of Russia, Monsieur Groremikine, the old states- 
man strongly criticized Sazonoff's policy. He said 
to me: 

^'Why did he go to London at all? Had I been 
Minister of Foreign Affairs and had in my pocket 
the treaty with Austria-Hungary which did not limit 
the theatre of war, and had been asked to a confer- 
ence, I should have simply replied : ' Gentlemen, let 
the Slavs and the Turks cut each other's throats to 
their hearts' content! and when they have had 
enough of this and they make a treaty of peace, there 
will be plenty of time to hand their treaty round the 
chancelleries of Europe. ' ' ' 

Count Witte too on his part did not hesitate to 
criticize Sazonoff's work severely. Unfortunately 
Goremikine, through indolence, and Witte, through 
impotence, did not bring their respective points of 
view to the Czar's attention. Thus Sazonoff re- 
mained master of the situation. Afraid of a second 
Balkan War and very desirous of preventing it, he 
persuaded the Emperor to intervene personally. 
This was a great mistake. The telegram of the 
Eussian Emperor to the Kings of Serbia and Bul- 
garia gave no practical result, and Russian prestige 
in the Balkans was seriously damaged. 



194 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

The second Balkan war was concluded by the 
treaty of Bucharest in 1914. This treaty pleased no 
one although I know that this is directly contrary to 
the opinion of my friend, M. Andre Cheradame, in 
his remarkable book ''The Pan-German Plot Un- 
masked.'^ Serbia victorious was very dissatisfied 
at not having obtained an outlet on the Adriatic 
Greece did not receive all she hoped for in Mace- 
donia. Eoumania was not content with what she 
received in Dobrudja and felt she had been pre- 
vented by Russia from marching on Sofia. Bulgaria 
lost all round. The Bulgarians were furious with 
Russia because they believed Russia had forced Eou- 
mania to intervene. The Treaty of Bucharest was 
chiefly the work of Sazonoff. It was obviously an 
expedient which sowed a harvest sure to be ripe for 
reaping one day. Yet when the harvest came in the 
present world war, as far as the Balkan States were 
concerned Sazonoff pursued his old policies, blind 
to their consequences. 

I am personally convinced that Sazonoff did not 
believe in the possibility of a European war which 
would develop into a world-wide war, and he im- 
pressed this belief both on France and England. 
They considered their interests in the Balkans small 
beside those of Russia and naturally preferred to 
follow the lead of Sazonoff. 

On the first of June, 1914, Emperor Nicholas had 
an interview with King Charles I of Roumania, at 



THE WHIRLPOOL 195 

Constanza. I was there at the time, and learned 
through Eoumanian statesmen, and intimate friends 
of mine, that King Charles had made certain prom- 
ises to Russia. For example a military convention 
which had been in force between Austria-Hungary 
and Roumania for more than twenty years would 
not be renewed. Austria-Hungary, in consequence, 
lost a very strong support in the Balkans. Further- 
more, when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to 
the throne of the Habsburgs, was assassinated at 
Serajevo, on the 28th of June, 1914, Sazonoff, doubt- 
less, knew of the war-like arrangements the Arch- 
duke had concluded in his Castle at Krobatin with 
the German Emperor, — yet as far as I could judge 
from my conversation with members of his entour- 
age, he was convinced that if the Archduke were out 
of the way, the peace of Europe would not be en- 
dangered. For my part after I left Constanza I 
spent ten days in Bucharest, and then went to Buda- 
pest and Vienna. At both places I had interviews 
with Austro-Hungarian statesmen; as for instance, 
Count Tisza, President of the Hungarian Council, 
and Count Forgach, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs 
in Austria-Hungary. Some of these interviews I 
sent to my paper in Petrograd and in them, contrary 
to the opinion held by Sazonoff, I held strongly to 
the opinion that owing to the death of the Archduke 
the situation had become infinitely more serious. 
Count Forgach, — who had been a colleague of mine 



196 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

at Munich — was most explicit. He did not attempt 
to hide the rage he was in against the Serbians. He 
said that Serbia fully deserved the most drastic kind 
of lesson, and added that Austria-Hungary would 
know how to inflict it ! Coming from such a source 
this was enough. Forgach was notorious as the 
forger of the Friedjung trial and one who would 
take any steps to harm Serbia. He and the German 
Emperor's representative, Tchirsky, were hand in 
glove. 

When I returned to Petrograd on the 2nd of July, 
1914, I reported my impressions to Monsieur Nera- 
toff, vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs. I found him 
very sceptical regarding my forebodings, and as I 
knew that Neratoff was Sazonoff 's alter ego, I real- 
ized that his views were those of the Foreign Min- 
ister himself, and that nothing would change them. 

After the declaration of war the Duma met in 
solemn conclave. All the ministers of State, and 
the foreign representatives of friendly allied Powers 
were received with wild enthusiasm. Sazonoff was 
unable to begin his speech for several minutes be- 
cause of the cheering of the deputies, and he thought 
the cheering was intended as a personal tribute and 
as confirming the excellence of his policies. 

It is apparent by simply examining a map which 
shows clearly the southern and eastern zones of the 
Great War, that the role Serbia would play in any 
such war was most important. Serbia lay as a bar- 



THE WHIRLPOOL 197 

rier between Constantinople and the Central Powers, 
and her army of about 400,000 men, already victori- 
ous in the two Balkan wars, was a constant menace to 
Austria-Hungary. It should have been evident that 
the efforts of our diplomats in the Balkan Peninsula 
must concentrate themselves on endeavouring to help 
and use the Serbian forces as much as possible. It 
was therefore, necessary to, 

(1) Force Greece to action. 

(2) Bring Roumania into the Alliance. 

(3) Either assure ourselves that Bulgaria would 
join us, or that, at least, she would remain neutral, 
and 

(4) To unite Italian military strategy with that 
of Serbia. 

Unfortunately Russian diplomacy lacked initia- 
tive, and drew the Allies into the same mischiev- 
ous situation. Dynastic considerations were allowed 
to affect diplomatic and military action, and this 
unhealthy state of affairs was ultimately the cause 
of the Serbian disaster. 

Greece in 1913 had concluded an offensive and de- 
fensive alliance with Serbia, which was primarily 
aimed at Bulgaria, but also had as an objective the 
possibility of an European war. It was stipulated 
in this treaty that if Serbia were attacked Greece 
would come to her assistance with all her military 
and naval forces. 

King Constantine of Greece, who married a sister 



198 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

of the German Emperor, and who received his mili- 
tary education in Berlin, regarded his rank of Gen- 
eral in the Prussian Army nearly, if not quite, as 
reverently as he did his position as King of Greece. 
He was pro-German to his very marrow. He was 
whole heartedly against an alliance of Greece with 
any powers inimical to Germany and German inter- 
ests. Venizelos, the only great statesman and dip- 
lomat in Greece, to whom Greece owed the re-acquisi- 
tion of her former territory, and who was the author 
of the treaty with Serbia, had to resign. He was re- 
placed by creatures nominated by the King, who 
falsely interpreted the treaty with Serbia, and con- 
fined Greece to a condition of neutrality entirely pro- 
German in its sentiments. 

All diplomatic action of the Allies should have 
concentrated in an attempt to force an anti-Con- 
stantine movement — or uprising — in Athens. In 
Paris the true situation was realized. But as much 
cannot be said for the authorities either in London 
or in Petrograd. The King of Greece sent one of 
his brothers to England and another to Eussia to 
plead his cause. Prince Christopher worked in Lon- 
don, and Prince Nicholas — married to a Grand Duch- 
ess of Russia, — did his best in Petrograd. They 
both used every possible argument regarding their 
dynastic interests, and both Sir Edward Grey and 
Sazonoff seem to have been blind to the real situa- 
tion. 



THE WHIRLPOOL 199 

The islands of the Grecian Archipelago served 
regularly as bases for the revictualling and remu- 
nitioning of German submarines. 

A certain Baron Schenk, the German representa- 
tive in Athens, became the centre of a web of spies 
spread over the whole Balkan Peninsula. Venizelos, 
whose life was in danger, had to leave Athens, and it 
was only after the massacre of French officers and 
sailors at Athens which was inspired and abetted by 
the Royal Court itself, that Allied diplomacy began 
to show some signs of energy . 

King Constantine eventually was forced to leave 
the country, and his son Alexander was proclaimed 
King. Venizelos became Prime Minister again, and 
Greece — at last — made common cause with the Al- 
lies. 

But it was too late ! Serbia no longer existed ! 

The treaty which linked Serbia with Roumania, 
made in 1913, had expired automatically after the 
peace of Bucharest. But it was evident that Rou- 
manian interests lay more with the Allies than with 
the Central Powers. Among the Provinces of Hun- 
gary was Transylvania, inhabited by five or six mil- 
lion Roumanians, and naturally Roumania — follow- 
ing a thoroughly nationalistic policy — would keep 
the annexation of Transylvania ever in view. But 
at the beginning of the war the throne of Roumania 
was still occupied by King Charles I, by birth and 
in his whole soul a HohenzoUern, who had linked the 



200 EE COLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

destinies of Ms country with those of the Central 
Powers. Despite this fact, through the pressure 
brought to bear on him by the majority of his peo- 
ple, — he had to denounce the military convention 
which he had concluded with Austria-Hungary in 
1884. When the war broke out he held a Crown 
Council (August 2nd, 1914) and began by declaring 
that according to his convictions, Eoumania should 
become an ally of the Central Powers. But, as he 
said, in case the majority of the Council should not be 
in accord with such a policy, he was ready to follow a 
policy of the strictest neutrality. He added that 
this was his final concession, and that he would rather 
abdicate than act in any way against the Central 
Powers. 

The meeting was a very turbulent one. The King 
found some support in Monsieur Carp, the ex-Presi- 
dent of the Council, and a strong partisan of Ger- 
many, and also in the person of Monsieur Marghilo- 
man — also an ex-President of the Council who voted 
for neutrality. 

The true patriots, such men as the late N. Philip- 
pesco and M. Take lonescu, demanded immediate 
action on the part of Eoumania with the Allied 
Powers. Monsieur Bratiano, the leader of the Lib- 
eral Party, and the most powerful man in the coun- 
try, who was President of the Council, played a dou- 
ble game. He declared for neutrality as he did not 
wish to break with the King, but in a devious man- 



THE WHIRLPOOL 201 

ner he let it be known to the partisans of the Allies 
that he was completely at one with their aspirations, 
and only awaited a favourable opportunity to force 
the King's hand and to follow a national policy. 
Thus at the beginning of the war, Eoumania pre- 
served her neutrality. 

But this neutrality was of a rather curious char- 
acter ! The Roumanian Government did not oppose 
the re- victualling and munitioning of Serbia by Rus- 
sia. We had installed at Reni, on the Danube and on 
the Roumanian frontier a special Military Commis- 
sion, presided over by Admiral Vesselkine. The 
ships belonging to this Commission brought the mu- 
nitions, equipment, and supplies down the Danube 
to the Serbians under the very eyes of the Roumanian 
authorities, but the latter deliberately turned their 
eyes another way! At the same time the Central 
Powers were unostentatiously passing whole batter- 
ies of guns of heavy calibre, shells and cartridges by 
the million, aeroplanes in sections, rifles by the thou- 
sand, through Roumania, all destined for Bulgaria 
and Turkey! 

German and Austrian officers were at complete lib- 
erty to come and go at will from Berlin and Vienna 
to Sofia and Constantinople. Furthermore, Rou- 
mania re-fitted and re-victualled the Central Powers 
with wheat and other cereals, and to cap all, finally 
concluded a commercial treaty with them. By this 
treaty Roumania promised to supply Austria-Hun- 



202 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

gary and Germany with a certain quantity of wheat, 
other cereals, and petrol, in exchange for war mate- 
rials wherewith to make war. This was '^strict neu- 
trality ' ' with a vengeance ! 

Eussia several times tried to protest against the 
actions of Roumania in this matter, but each time 
Bratiano excused himself and assured the cabinet at 
Petrograd that he could not do otherwise. He sol- 
emnly stated he only awaited the opportunity to join 
the Allies openly, adding that Roumania was not yet 
ready from a military point of view. The greater 
number of Roumania 's heavy guns were made by 
Krupp, and the rifles by Mauser, and the Mannlicher 
Company — both being German and Austrian firms. 
It was therefore necessary, he said, to go to Germany 
and Austria for munitions for these weapons; and 
it stood to reason that the Central Powers would 
not provide him with such munitions unless he turned 
over food stuffs to them ! As to the question of per- 
mitting the carriage through Roumania of war ma- 
terials for Bulgaria and Turkey, and allowing Aus- 
trian and German officers to go and come as they 
pleased, Bratiano denied the facts absolutely. 
He explained such reports by saying that they were 
circulated by his enemies ! When hard pressed for 
the truth by the diplomatic insistence of the Allies, 
and afraid to declare himself one way or the other 
as to the date when Roumania might be expected by 
them to join their forces, Bratiano let it be under- 



THE WHIRLPOOL 203 

stood that he would join the Allies as soon as Italy 
joined them. 

In order to lend colour to this assertion he 
sent a personal friend of his, the brother of 
the Roumanian Minister at Petrograd, M. Dia- 
mandi, to Rome. When Italy finally did join 
in the campaign, Roumania, instead of doing as 
she had said, still maintained her neutrality ! Bra- 
tiano explained this to the Allies by calling attention 
to the Italian refusal to link their forces and align 
their strategy with Roumania. It must be admitted 
that this explanation was well founded. Italy con- 
centrated all her efforts on the Trentino, and Trieste 
as her main objective, and would not extend her 
operations any further. 

I was again in Bucharest in July, 1916, and stayed 
a week then at Reni with Admiral Vesselkine, the 
head of our Military Commission, from whom I 
wished to obtain information as to Roumanian af- 
fairs for the reason that he knew them intimately. 
This time I stayed in Roumania fully four months 
and I was present when she at last took the field. 

At that time the Serbian disaster was un fait ac- 
compli! The heroic Serbian people had succumbed 
at last — thanks to the neutrality of Roumania and 
Greece and the bad judgment of the Allies. The 
Allied Forces — under command of the French Gen- 
eral, Sarrail, concentrated at Salonika, were grow- 
ing day by day, and — with the Serbians — attained 



204 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

the not inconsiderable number of slightly more than 
300,000 men. Venizelos had instituted at Salonika 
a separate government from that at Athens, and did 
his best from that place to bring Greece into the war 
on the side of the Allies. 

The Roumanian Court was now divided into two 
camps. King Charles had died of a broken heart 
at not being able to join the Central Powers. King 
Ferdinand was a constitutional king, and proved him- 
self such, saying that if the majority of his people 
demanded an alliance against the Central Powers 
he would not hesitate to sign it immediately. 

As the Government was in the hands of Bratiano, 
controlling an absolute majority in the House, the 
King trusted himself absolutely to him, and conse- 
quently Bratiano was complete master of the situa- 
tion. 

The Allied cause, however, found strong support 
at Court in the person of Queen Marie. Through 
her father, the Duke of Edinburgh, and later of Co- 
burg, she is British, and a grand-daughter of Queen 
Victoria. Her mother was the Grand Duchess Marie 
of Russia, the only daughter of Alexander II.* 

Queen Marie did not attempt to hide her sympathy 
for the Allies, and as she was extremely popular in 
Roumania her influence was invaluable to their 
cause. The Allies also had several strong sup- 
porters among the Conservatives. Carp had aban- 

* See Appendix I. 



THE WHIRLPOOL 205 

doned politics after the death of Charles I, and the 
Conservative Party of which he had been leader, 
had split. Marghiloman, preaching neutrality, was 
at one end of the rope, and Take lonescu and Philip- 
pesco, partisans of the Allies, were at the other end. 
There was a regular tug-of-war going on between the 
two factions. 

I succeeded, while in Bucharest, in keeping on the 
best of terms with all the parties, and for a time my 
wife and I were the guests of Philippesco at his 
charming villa. I was also very intimate with Take 
lonescu, and lunched several times a week with Marg- 
hiloman. 

One day the last named stated his convictions to 
me plainly. He said : 

''The impossible must never be attempted. My 
political adversaries want to swallow Transylvania, 
and even the Banat! Our stomachs cannot digest 
all this. In annexing Transylvania, which is cul- 
turally far more advanced than we are, we should in 
time become Transylvanians, and no longer be Eou- 
manians. Besides we are not ready for military 
action, and our defeat — from my point of view — 
would be a foregone conclusion. We cannot give any 
serious military support to the Allies, and I am con- 
vinced that our neutrality will be more profitable to 
them in the long run^ than if we took the field ac- 
tively. ' ' 

It is necessary to state that since I had first known 



206 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

him some years before, Marghiloman had lost a great 
deal of his prestige, even in the inner-circles of his 
own party, the leadership of which had passed into 
the hand of his adversaries. But the Conservative 
Party, as a whole, only exercised a small influence in 
the House, which was dominated by the Liberals. 
The latter consisted of bankers, rich men of the 
Bourgeoisie, and of various other individuals who 
hoped for a public career by strictly carrying out the 
orders of Bratiano. 

The latter was cunning, and had cleverly known 
how to make game — and profitable game of the Al- 
lies' Representatives at Bucharest, and to use them 
for his own ends! Unfortunately he did not have 
a very difficult game to play! 

The Russian Minister, — Monsieur Poklewsky- 
Kosiell, — was by no means unintelligent, but having 
fallen out with the first Secretary of our Legation, 
Monsieur Arsenieff, who had strong friends at court 
in Petrograd, he narrowly missed being recalled, 
and kept his position solely by the powerful and 
friendly support of Sazonoff. He very naturally 
wished to reinstate himself in the good graces of our 
Foreign Office, and saw but one way in which he 
could do so, namely by forcing Roumania into the 
war. How he was to achieve this mattered not one 
whit to him! Knowing that everything depended 
on Bratiano, he became a very docile instrument in 
the Roumanian Minister 's hands. Moreover he had 



THE WHIRLPOOL 207 

embroiled himself with Admiral Vesselkine, and 
when the latter called the attention of the Russian 
Government to the serious infractions of the neu- 
trality of Roumania for the benefit and profit of the 
Central Powers, Poklewsky, under Bratiano's influ- 
ence, sent home reports which were entirely con- 
tradictory to those of the Admiral. 

The French Minister, Monsieur Blondel, was 
somewhat in the same position as his Russian col- 
league. He had been in Roumania for eleven years, 
and his daughter had married the Governor of Silis- 
tria. In Paris Blondel was thought to be too Rou- 
manian in his tendencies and his recall was decided 
upon, but he was eager to keep his post and, as 
his only method of doing so, stuck tightly to Bra- 
tiano ! 

The British Minister, Sir H. Barclay, naturally 
followed the lead of his French colleague. Under 
the circumstances this was of no great moment as 
he had not very much influence in Roumania owing 
to the pre-war policy of England, which did not like 
to mix too deeply in Balkan aifairs,. Barclay was 
also a very good friend of Poklewsky, who had been 
his colleague in Persia. 

Thus the principal representatives of the Allies 
were very much under the sway of Bratiano. So 
much so that when one day after a luncheon at Mon- 
sieur Poklewsky 's, I criticized Bratiano's policy, 
Poklewsky and the other two attacked me as though I 



208 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

were a personal enemy of theirs, while Barclay 
marched up and down the room, his hands above his 
head, wildly protesting against the noise we made. 

Thus Bratiano was really dictator of Roumania. 
Vain, and very ambitious, he was eager to eclipse his 
father, who had been the liberator of Roumania, and 
whose colossal statue stands in the public square at 
Bucharest. All the Roumanian ministers were his 
most intimate friends. He had made his brother 
Minister of War, and at the head of the General 
Staff he had put his cousin. General Iliesco, a mili- 
tary nonentity. 

Bratiano did not really know the exact fighting 
strength of Roumania, He knew that, in case of 
war, Roumania should be able to put 500,000 men in 
the field, but he forgot that the Army only had muni- 
tions for two months, — that it entirely lacked any 
heavy artillery and had no aeroplanes at all 

Bratiano had but one aim : which was to force the 
Allies to pay as high a price as possible for Rou- 
manian assistance. He had assured himself of ter- 
ritorial aggrandizement by making an agreement 
which gave Roumania Transylvania, the Banat and 
a portion of the Bulgarian Dobrudja, but he had not 
sufficiently assured himself of armed assistance 
on the part of the Allies. When, a few months be- 
fore Roumania declared war, Philippesco, who, as 
Minister of War, knew the very bad condition his 
country was in, came to Petrograd, he insisted that 



THE WHIRLPOOL 209 

Eussia should support Roumania with an army of 
at least 250,000 men. In his overweening self-assur- 
ance Bratiano consented to accept the help of three 
Russian divisions only, in the Dobrudja region I 
Furthermore he would listen to no suggestions from 
the Allies as to the military strategy of Roumania. 
He proposed to leave a small force in Dobrudja and 
on the Danube, which he thought would be quite suf- 
ficient to hold Bulgaria in check, and to throw the 
weight of the Roumanian army over and beyond the 
Carpathians, to invade Transylvania. He also hoped 
to ensure the neutrality of Bulgaria by means 
of small concessions. In an under-handed way he 
worked hard for this project, and he was — most un- 
fortunately — well seconded by the diplomatic actions 
of the Allies! Of course the Bulgars encouraged 
him in this belief, setting a trap by which they could 
force him to pay very dearly for his grave and ego- 
tistical errors. 

To me, who had studied the situation very carefully 
at first hand, the danger of a plan of campaign like 
this was vividly clear! I had sent my newspaper 
secret reports as to the real position of affairs, not 
for publication, but in order that it might be in a 
position to understand matters in view of eventuali- 
ties which to my mind were certain to follow. One 
copy of my report I also sent, through Admiral Ves- 
selkine, to General Brusiloff, who was at that time 
in command of the Russian Armies in the South, and 



210 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

another copy went to the Emperor's headquarters.* 
In this report I asserted that within two months, or 
less, Roumania would be short of food supplies, and 
more important still would have no ammunition 
whatsoever! Thus I pointed out she would be a 
heavy burden on our shoulders as the other Allies 
could get nothing in the way of supplies of any 
kind to her. I also stated it would be very diffi- 
cult for Russia to do much, as we only had one 
available port, Archangel, which was far to the 
north, for receiving our own war munitions, and 
also that our railway facilities were so poor that 
they barely sufficed for our own purposes — to say 
nothing of outfitting and sustaining another . coun- 
try. It was primarily necessary, therefore, that 
Roumania should open a way for herself through 
to Saloniki in order to get into direct communica- 
tion with the Allies and their supplies, and that the 
weight of the Roumanian forces, reinforced by a 
Russian army of considerable strength, should act in 
conjunction with General Sarrail's forces, and be 
thrown at once across the Danube and hurled against 
Bulgaria and Turkey. 

In the north all that Roumania had to do to safe- 
guard herself against an Austro-Hungarian attack, 
was to use the Carpathian range, that could easily be 
defended and by a comparatively small army. 

I did not hesitate to assert the same things in 

* See Appendix II. 



THE WHIRLPOOL 211 

Bucharest, but when Poklewsky learned what I was 
doing he made a tremendous uproar about it! In 
the presence of Take lonescu's brother he accused 
me of "mixing the cards." The Russian Military 
Attache, Colonel Tatarinoff, took sides and agreed 
with Poklewsky against me. The Colonel's reports 
were the antithesis of mine, and naturally their effect 
was to neutralize my opinion, while they did not 
in the least advance his theories. Events which 
soon followed proved me to be in the right. While 
the Roumanian army was descending the Carpa- 
thians and invading Transylvania without meeting 
with any serious resistance, the Bulgars, with Ger- 
man and Turkish assistance, attacked the Rou- 
manians on the Danube, and the weak Russo-Rou- 
manian forces in Dobrudja. Two of the finest and 
best equipped Roumanian Divisions were practically 
annihilated at Tourtoukai (on the Danube), and 
the little Russo-Roumanian Army had to hastily re- 
cross the Danube in full retreat. 

Two days before the disaster of Tourtoukai, the 
General commanding the Roumanian Southern Army 
was quietly playing cards in the club at Bucharest. 
He was sure the Bulgars would not attack, and in 
this idiotic supposition he was sustained by Bratiano ! 

In the north the Prussian General, von Falken- 
hayn, having been made Commander-in-Chief, 
gathered an Austro-German army together and com- 
pletely routed the Roumanian forces. The latter 



212 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

fled in disorder and abandoned in their panic all the 
strongest passes of the Carpathian Range. The Ans- 
tro-Germans penetrated Roumania from the north, 
and at the same time the Turks and Bulgars attacked 
from the south. 

And the Roumanian tragedy had begun ! 

Obviously, poor Roumania owed her evil fortunes 
and tremendous sufferings principally to Bratiano, 
but proper diplomacy on the part of the Allies and 
their military advisers, could have done much to al- 
leviate the situation had they forced Bratiano either 
to declare war before Serbia had been completely 
crushed or to adopt a plan of campaign which con- 
formed to the military situation of the moment. 

Of the Allies, Russia must bear the chief blame 
for the terrible Roumanian disaster. The General 
Staff should have sent Roumania an army of at least 
250,000 men, which Philippesco had asked for. The 
General Staff had no possible excuse for not doing 
so, as soon after, at a far less favourable time, it was 
able to concentrate on the Roumanian frontiers a 
force of 500,000 men. But the General Staff like all 
the rest listened to Bratiano and sent only the three 
divisions he asked for. 

Sazonoff, surely, should have made it his policy 
to bring pressure to bear on Bratiano, and persuade 
him to follow a plan which would not only conform 
with ours, but with that of the Serbians. He was 
always afraid Bratiano might go over to the enemy, 



THE WHIRLPOOL 213 

which as a matter of fact was absolutely impossible ! 
Bratiano had gone too far with the Allies to re- 
treat. Moreover the immense majority of people in 
the country were for war against the Central Powers, 
and Bratiano was neither big enough nor strong 
enough to finally thwart the desires of the Rou- 
manian people. 

Sazonoff, in his policy towards Bulgaria, showed 
a still greater lack of foresight, and allowed himself 
to be completely duped by Ferdinand and his min- 
isters. It was so evident from the beginning of the 
war that Bulgaria was gradually but surely going 
over to the enemy's camp! German officers in civ- 
ilian clothes inundated Sofia. Guns of heavy calibre, 
aeroplanes, etc., were being constantly sent from 
Germany into Bulgarian territory. As she was not 
yet militarily prepared, it was only natural that 
her diplomats assured Russia that Bulgaria would 
maintain a rigid neutrality. But the numerous Slav 
societies, to which I still belong, and which are prin- 
cipally composed of men who know and understand 
our brothers in the Orient very well indeed, were not 
in the least deceived by the Czar of Bulgaria ! More 
than once, in resolutions constantly submitted to the 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, they warned him of the 
grave danger which threatened. But M. Sazonoff 
continued to follow his own policies! He had al- 
ways relied on P. N. Milioukoff, who became the first 
Minister of Foreign Affairs after the Revolution. 



214 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

M. Milioukoff liad at one time been Professor of 
History in the University of Petrograd. But being 
a participant in a revolutionary movement he was 
forced to escape into exile. He was warmly re- 
ceived in Bulgaria, and was given the Chair of His- 
tory in the University of Sofia. Naturally ever 
after he was always very sympathetic towards Bul- 
garia. Furthermore his professional temperament 
made it very difficult for him to deviate from a 
course which he had once determined to follow. He 
was sure of Bulgaria, and shut his eyes to all evi- 
dences of treachery, even when they were most ap- 
parent. He might be classed with the famous band 
of German professors at the Frankfort Diet, of 
whom the German people exclaimed: 

''Hundert Professoren! Vaterland, du bist ver- 
loren!" (''A hundred professors! My country, 
thou art lost!") 

Two weeks before Bulgaria declared war on 
Serbia, M. T. Spolaikovitch, Serbian Minister at 
Petrograd, called on Sazonoff with instructions from 
Nikola Paschitch, President of the Serbian Council. 
He told our Minister of Foreign Affairs that there 
was not the least doubt in Serbia that Bulgaria would 
very shortlj:' enter the war as an ally of the Central 
Powers! The Serbian Minister asked the Eussian 
Government's authorization for the Serbian forces 
to attack Bulgaria at once ! He stated that he was 
sure the Serbian Army, already hardened by fighting 



THE WHIRLPOOL 215 

and in good condition whereas Bulgaria as yet had 
not had time to mobilize her forces, could easily take 
Sofia. Serbia therefore proposed to dethrone Czar 
Ferdinand of Bulgaria, to arrest all German officers, 
whether in mufti or in uniform, whom they could 
catch, and then conclude an alliance with Bulgaria, 
by opening the eyes of the Bulgars to the nefarious 
policies, entirely anti-Slav, which their sovereign had 
been hatching. 

Sazonoff was terribly upset. He threatened to de- 
mand the resignation of Spolaikovitch if he persisted 
in maintaining such an attitude. A stormy scene 
between the two diplomats followed, but there was 
nothing else for the Serbian Minister to do but tele- 
graph to Paschitch all that Sazonoff had said. The 
next day, Spolaikovitch had lunch with me. The un- 
happy man, tears streaming down his face, told me 
the details of his interview with Sazonoff. I sug- 
gested that he should talk the matter over mth Gore- 
mikine, who was at that time President of the Coun- 
cil of Ministers. As the Serbian Minister accepted 
this suggestion with alacrity, I at once telephoned to 
Goremikine — asking him to receive Spolaikovitch. 
Goremikine asked the Serbian Minister to come and 
see him at once. When the latter told him of bis 
fears the old statesman said to him: 

"What the devil did you go to Sazonoff for? You 
Serbians should have acted! You know Sazonoff of 
old, and very well. Of a surety it is not he who 



216 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

would sanction any snch precipitate action however 
logical it might be. " 

The incident shows how even in such dangerous 
times, the Russian Cabinet was all at sixes and sevens 
on the most vital policies. 

A few days after Bulgaria attacked Serbia, and 
the poor little nation, caught between the heavy cross 
fire of the Bulgarians and the Germans, experienced 
complete and tragic disaster ! 

The untold miseries of the Serbian people have 
continued even after their political existence has 
vanished — let us hope not for ever. 

The Allies had tried ever since the war began to 
obtain Italy's assistance, and here again it was the 
Slavs, and especially the Serbians, who had to bear 
the brunt and pay the price for Italian participation. 
The Italian Chauvinists insisted on compensation in 
the Balkans and Sazonoff signed a treaty with 
Italy whereby Italy — after a vigorous campaign — 
should obtain not only Istria, with Trieste, but also 
a portion of the Dalmatian Coast, which is almost 
entirely populated by Serbs. Sazonoff further rec- 
ognized the rights of Italy in Vallona, the Albanian 
port, and in Adana, in the northeastern corner of the 
Mediterranean. 

When the pitiful remnants of that brave little 
Serbian army, starving, crushed to the very dust by 
their horrible sufferings, clothesless, shoeless, and 
wholly destitute after a truly epic march across the 



THE WHIRLPOOL 217 

wilderness of Albanian mountains, headed by their 
heroic King, 74 years of age, who insisted upon shar- 
ing the miseries of his soldiers, finally reached the 
shores of the Adriatic, they received prompt aid 
from France and Greece. France, chivalrous as 
ever, sent provisions and arms, and Greece offered 
Corfu as a refuge for the Government of Serbia and 
as a centre in which the Serbian army could be re- 
organized. 

Sazonoff 's fall, however, was not on account of his 
foreign policy. It was the result of a memoir he 
presented to Emperor Nicholas on the Polish 
question ! 



CHAPTER IX 

THE FOX OF THE BALKANS 
Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria 

The Czar of Bulgaria has played such a sinister part 
in the European tragedy that he deserves a special 
pillory. 

Prince Ferdinand of Coburg had a sister in 
Munich, Princess Amelie, who was married to Duke 
Max of Bavaria, and Ferdinand was often a guest 
there. In 1892 Europe ignored him completely. In 
point of fact he was then Prince of Bulgaria, but the 
European Courts still regarded him as Prince of 
Coburg. He was probably informed by his sister of 
my intimate friendship with my chief, Count Osten- 
Sacken, and when I met him for the first time at 
Bayreuth at a Wagnerian Festival in 1893 he went 
out of his way to be specially courteous to me. He 
hoped, through me, to influence Count Osten-Sacken, 
and through him to be able to approach Emperor 
Alexander III, who so far had obstinately refused 
to recognize him. A brilliant conversationalist, a 
connoisseur of music, speaking the flowery French 
of the Eighteenth Century, and knowing full well 

218 



THE FOX OF THE BALKANS 219 

how best to use his excellent knowledge of both social 
and diplomatic history, he was a man, once known, 
never to be forgotten. A few years later I met him 
in Berlin on the occasion of his first official visit to the 
German capital (1896), after his official recognition 
by Nicholas II. But the German Emperor, who had 
kno\vn the Prince in his youth and disliked him, paid 
him no special attentions and gave him what was con- 
sidered a very bad reception. The Emperor did not 
come to the station to meet him but sent a minor 
Prince. There was no guard of honour and even 
the Chancellor of the Empire, Prince Hohenlohe, was 
conspicuous by his absence. 

The next day the Emperor opened the pan-German 
Exhibition and there was a royal procession in which 
the Prince of Bulgaria was preceded by all the 
Princes of Prussia and was obliged to give his arm 
to the Countess Keller, who was only a lady in wait- 
ing to the Empress. 

After the opening of the Exhibition, Prince 
Ferdinand came to the Russian Embassy and said, 
somewhat bitterly,- to Count Osten-Sacken : 

"You see, Monsieur I'Ambassadeur, how they 
treat the Prince of Bulgaria in Berlin." 

The Ambassador replied: "Patience, Monseig- 
neur, you are clever enough and diplomatic enough to 
be able to arrange such things to your liking." 

The Ambassador proved right. At one of the big 
regimental luncheons, the Prince of Bulgaria hap- 



220 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

pened to be seated beside the Emperor. At the end 
of the luncheon, Prince Ferdinand began to enter- 
tain the Emperor with some of his scandalous anec- 
dotes. He gradually slipped from scandal to politi- 
cal matters with such dexterity that the German 
Emperor did not recognize where he was being led, 
but remained over two hours talking to the Prince 
whom he hitherto had affected to despise. 

As a result the Emperor asked the Prince to pro- 
long his stay in Berlin for one or two days more, and 
when Ferdinand finally left Berlin, William went to 
the station to see him off. After his departure, Wil- 
liam came to the Russian Embassy, and said to Count 
Osten-Sacken : 

''My dear Count, your protege from Bulgaria is 
a very adroit fellow!" (Votre protege de Bulgarie 
est un coco!) 

In this way Ferdinand gained his point. The 
tragi-comedy of the situation lay in the fact that it 
was through Russian diplomacy that Ferdinand first 
became a friend of the German Emperor and this 
eventually led to his alliance with Germany in the 
Great War. 

In 1908, at the time of the annexation of Bosnia- 
Herzegovina, Russo-Bulgarian relations became very 
strained again. At Petrograd every one was cer- 
tain Ferdinand had allied himself by secret treaty 
with Austria-Hungary. The Russian Emperor did 
not recognize his title of Czar, and there was even 



THE FOX OF THE BALKANS 221 

some question of breaking off our diplomatic rela- 
tions with Sofia. Under these difficult circumstances 
Ferdinand gave proof of an extremely quick mind. 

Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia, who was an inti- 
mate, personal friend of his, died suddenly at Petro- 
grad as the result of an attack of influenza. Ferdi- 
nand at once started from Sofia to take part in the 
Grand Duke's obsequies. He decided to do this very 
abruptly, and was already on his way to the Russian 
frontier while the Russian Court was still undecided 
as to what sort of a reception he should have. He 
could not be totally ignored, and the Emperor 
Nicholas finding his hand forced accorded him royal 
honours. Thus his recognition by the Russian court 
as the Czar of Bulgaria was automatically accom- 
plished. It was a master stroke on Ferdinand's 
part. 

It would be puerile to deny that he is an extraor- 
dinarily able and clever man. He has an especial 
gift of knowing how to make use of the slightest cir- 
cumstance favourable to him. To flatter those who 
could further his plans he was apparently ever ready 
to change his opinions. 

He once told the Turkish Ambassador to Berlin, 
Achmet Tev/fik Pasha, that were he not a Catholic, 
he would prefer above anything else to be a Mussul- 
man. The very next day he confessed to the High 
Priest of our Church, Father A. Maltzoff, his un- 
. bounded admiration for the Orthodox belief! He 



'222 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

kissed the hand of the Sultan of Turkey, and of Em- 
peror Francis Joseph of Austria, and bowed double 
before the Emperors of Germany and Russia. "When 
necessary, he would emphasize his French anteced- 
ents, and claim descent from Louis XIV, the King 
of the Sun. (Ferdinand is the son of Princess 
Clementine of France, daughter of Louis Philippe, 
last King of the French.) But this did not at all 
prevent him, on other occasions, from fervently de- 
claring he was a German Prince. An international 
chameleon, he became Russian for the Russians, 
French for the French, and German for the Ger- 
mans! He avoided only declaring himself a Bul- 
garian ! He despises the people he adopted to rule 
over them. Worse still he suspects them always. 
When he shakes hands with one of his subjects he is 
carefully gloved, as he dreads catching some disease 
or other. The Bulgars reciprocate his feelings to- 
ward them, and he is far from being popular, but 
such is his ability that he is absolute master of them, 
and in difficult moments all eyes are turned toward 
the Royal Palace watching for his decision. 

Political intrigue was ever his favourite pastime. 
He supported Stambouloff, a very popular states- 
man in Bulgaria, in order to consolidate his own posi- 
tion with the people, and connived in Stambouloff's 
death, who was assassinated in the streets of Sofia, 
because he believed that statesman stood in the way 
of his recognition by Russia. To achieve his own 



THE FOX OF THE BALKANS 223 

ends he used the diplomats accredited to his court 
by other nations, with consummate skill, intuitively 
picking out their weak points the first time he met 
them. Not wishing France and Russia to unite on 
any policy inimical to him, with incredible cunning 
he contrived to alienate Monsieur Paleologue, the 
French Minister, and M. Sementovsky, the Russian 
Minister at Sofia. The Russian Minister told me 
that things had gone so far that he preferred to 
work with his German colleague, Baron Romberg, 
rather than with Monsieur Paleologue, and this at a 
time when the Franco-Russian Alliance was very 
strong. 

Very soon after his recognition as Czar of Bul- 
garia by Russia, the question of a political treaty 
and military convention between Russia and Bul- 
garia was raised. Ferdinand hastened to declare 
himself an ardent partisan of such a convention, but 
promptly set to work against it secretly. This was 
quite natural seeing that since 1908 he had linked the 
interests of his country with those of the Habsburg 
Monarchy. Each clause of the projected treaty was 
objected to by the Bulgarian Government. Ferdi- 
nand suddenly became an ultra-constitutional mon- 
arch, and complained to the Russian Minister at 
Sofia that he could do nothing. In consequence al- 
though they were exceedingly flattering to Bulgaria 
the Political Treaty and the Military Convention 
failed utterly. 



224 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Fate should have made Ferdinand an actor, as h« 
would most certainly have eclipsed the talent of 
either a Coquelin or a Eossi. On a throne he was 
neither more nor less than a traitor. When he kissed 
the Sultan's hand he was planning his ruin. When 
he held out his hand in friendship to Serbia his mind 
was scheming the betrayal of that nation. He asked 
for reinforcements from his Serbian ally for the 
taking of Adrianople, and at the same time was dis- 
cussing the best way to seize Macedonia, despite 
Serbia. He deceived every one at every opportunity, 
not omitting his own country, which he forced to fol- 
low an anti-Slav and anti-national policy. If any 
opportunity arises in the present war he will not 
hesitate to embarrass his ally, the German Emperor, 
should favourable conditions arise for so doing. 

In his private life Ferdinand is a tyrant and a 
deceiver. His first wife, a Princess of Parma, killed 
herself, as she could not bear his treatment any 
longer. The Princess of Reuss, his second wife, 
who has died since the beginning of the present war, 
was reduced solely to playing the part of a nurse to 
her children. Her sons hardly dared speak in his 
presence. 

Ferdinand is very much afraid of contagious dis- 
eases, and of attacks against his person. During the 
present war, in order to give himself courage, he has 
taken to alcohol. His sleep is short and very dis- 
turbed. He changes his sleeping quarters every 



THE FOX OF THE BALKANS 225 

night. At meals he insists that members of his fam- 
ily or even one of his guests taste the dishes before 
he will touch them. Perhaps he may escape the vio- 
lent death he fears, but he will not escape the im- 
partial judgment of history, having made a German 
province of the Slav nation which by evil fortune had 
him as its sovereign. Immensely vain of the re- 
sult of the war with Turkey, he had himself photo- 
graphed in the costume of a Byzantine Emperor! 
The livery of a footman to the German Emperor 
would suit him ever so much better! 



CHAPTER X 

THE EVE OF REVOLUTIOIT 

The Last Foreign Ministers of Nieliolas II — Sturmer, Pokrowsky, 
Vice-Minister Neratoff — The Ambassadors 

Sazonofp was replaced by Monsieur Sturmer, who 
was at the time President of the Ministerial Council. 
He was nothing but a courtier. For many years he 
had occupied the position of Master of Ceremonies 
at court. After that he was governor of two differ- 
ent provinces where he proved himself to be an out 
and out reactionary, and, finally he became a member 
of the Council of Empire. He never made a speech 
in Council, contenting himself by voting with the 
Party of the Extreme Right, and he knew absolutely 
nothing of our foreign policy. He was entirely pre- 
occupied by his efforts to hold his position. He was 
as false as an imitation coin. On the day before his 
nomination as President of the Council, I met him 
at M. Goremikine's residence, against whom he was 
constantly plotting and intriguing, and whom he was 
to succeed on the morrow, though Goremikine did 
not know that at the time. I heard him assure the 

226 



THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 227 

old statesman of his absolute devotion and admira- 
tion. 

When he was appointed Foreign Minister he placed 
himself entirely in the hands of M. Neratoff, the Vice- 
Minister and disciple of Sazonoff. Our policy there- 
fore remained the same, though if anything it became 
more generally muddled, as the new minister thought 
far more of himself and of his own position than he 
did of affairs of state. Sturmer is generally accused 
of having led Russia towards a separate peace. I 
know for instance that Sir George Buchanan, the 
British Ambassador to Petrograd, was of this opin- 
ion, but personally I do not agree with this point of 
view. Sturmer only obeyed his Imperial master's 
orders, and Emperor Nicholas II, with all his faults, 
would never have been a traitor, nor would he ever 
have signed a separate peace. I am convinced of 
this because I discussed the point with Goremikine, 
and also with persons of the immediate entourage of 
the Emperor. 

The last Minister of Foreign Affairs, under Nicho- 
las II was M. Pokrowsky, who held office for only two 
months. His appointment by the Emperor was 
wholly unexpected ; but for once Nicholas was fortu- 
nate in his choice. The new minister had passed his 
ofiBcial life in the department of finance. Count 
Witte had been the first to recognize his great ca- 
pacity and possibilities, and Count Kokowtzoff ap- 
pointed him Assistant Minister of Finance. He then 



228 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

became a Member of the Council of the Empire and, 
prior to becoming Foreign Minister, occupied the 
post of State Controller, with rank equivalent to a 
minister of state. He had never meddled with Eus- 
sia's foreign policy in any way, but as he was very 
intelligent and gifted with a large degree of natural 
finesse he soon became familiar with the duties and 
responsibilities of his new position. 

The personnel of the ministry received him at first 
with a great deal of scepticism, and the various chiefs 
of the bureaux were sure that he would prove a docile 
instrument in their hands. But they soon recognized 
to their pained surprise, that in Pokrowsky they had 
a stern chief, who knew how to enforce his orders. 

Pokrowsky was thoroughly aware of the perilous 
situation in which Russia was placed. He reiterated 
time and time again that the abnormal conditions 
then existing in the Empire must not last, indeed 
could not last, and that he clearly saw a terrible 
revolution approaching. One evening in his private 
study, he went to a window which overlooked the 
square before the Imperial Palace, where stands the 
column of Alexander I, surrounded by four great 
bronze candelabra. I asked him what he was gazing 
at so intently. 

"My dear friend,*' said he, **I am admiring those 
beautiful candelabra, and asking myself from which 
of the four I may soon be hung." 

But his fears were groundless. When the Eevo- 



THE EVE OP REVOLUTION 229 

lution broke out he was not even arrested or 
molested. More than this, the Provisional Govern- 
ment authorized him to keep his oflSces in the ministry- 
building until he found suitable ones elsewhere. He 
had known how to win the esteem of the most extreme 
parties by his frankness, his honesty and his pro- 
gressive ideas. 

Among the officials of the Foreign Office during 
the reign of Nicholas II, it is necessary to mention 
M. Neratoff, who, though only Assistant Minister, 
nevertheless played an ill-fated part in our diplo- 
macy. He was nothing but a windbag. He began 
his diplomatic career some thirty-five years before 
the Revolution, and starting in the modest position 
of a minor attache at the ministry, finished by reach- 
ing the post of Assistant Minister without ever hav- 
ing been attached to any of our embassies or lega- 
tions abroad. His mental capacity was hardly 
mediocre. His entire success he owed to his zeal and 
to his very thorough knowledge of the contents of 
our diplomatic archives. He had been at college 
with Sazonoff, who later appointed him Assistant 
Minister, and since then always had the sense to 
make himself indispensable to all the foreign minis- 
ters, despite their widely divergent mentalities and 
ideas. Sturmer, Pokrowsky, Milioukoff, and even 
Terestchenko could not do without his collaboration. 

These ministers succeeded one another as in a 
moving picture play, but Neratoff stayed on securely 



230 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

at his post. Petrograd hummed, ' ' The world may 
come, the world may go, but Neratoff stays on for 
ever." The representatives of foreign powers dealt 
especially with him, and visited him daily in their 
official capacities. He was no longer the little Nera- 
toff of olden days. He had become the right hand 
man of all the ministers. But his mentality did not 
change either ; he was ever the same as on the first 
day he entered the service, always very eager to 
execute the orders of his superiors, a hard worker, 
but painfully narrow minded, and wholly devoid of 
any of the attributes of the great statesman he fondly 
imagined he resembled. His influence was especially 
pernicious in Balkan affairs. He was completely 
hypnotized by the personal charm of Milioukoff, and 
like Sazonoff, was blindly led by Ferdinand of Bul- 
garia. In short, ''little" Neratoff was a tragic per- 
sonality in the annals of our diplomacy. His period 
at the foreign office will be marked with a black cross 
by any impartial critic of Russian history. 

In order that Russian diplomacy and policies dur- 
ing the reign of Nicholas II up to the outbreak of the 
Revolution may be understood by the world at large, 
it is necessary to give some particulars concerning 
our more important ambassadors and ministers, and 
the representatives of the Allied Powers, accredited 
to Petrograd. Nicholas II had three ambassadors at 
Berlin during his reign : Count Chouvaloff, Count 
Osten-Sacken and M. Sverbeef. Count Chouvaloff 



THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 231 

had been appointed by Alexander III. Prior to be- 
ing made an ambassador, he had had nothing to do 
with our foreign policies. He was a general who 
had distinguished himself in the Russo-Turkish War 
1877-78, and had won the military cross of St. George 
for meritorious services. He commanded the Im- 
perial Guard Corps at the time that Alexander III 
chose him as his ambassador at Berlin. He soon 
accustomed himself to his new position, and his mili- 
tary manners gave much satisfaction at the German 
capital. It did not take him long to become a diplo- 
mat of much finesse and adroitness. He learned how 
to steer a safe course between Scylla and Charybdis. 
Prince Bismarck was his intimate friend, and at the 
same time he managed to enjoy the German Emper- 
or's highest favour and esteem. His popularity at 
Berlin was tremendous, especially in military circles, 
and he was very fond of surrounding himself with 
officers, and — as all good Russians are very fond 
of wine — did not disdain to become hilariously drunk 
with them. But he had one priceless trait : after hav- 
ing consumed an incredibly large amount of liquor 
he always remembered everything he had said and 
far more important, he also remembered everything 
said to him. 

M. de Bacheracht, Secretary of the Embassy, with 
whom the Ambassador especially liked to work, told 
me the following story: 

One evening Count Herbert Bismarck, son of the 



232 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Chancellor and secretary in the German foreign of- 
fice, came to see Chouvaloff. Count Herbert was not 
a man to deny the pleasures of wine either. The two 
drank heavily until both diplomats were hors-de- 
combat. Count Herbert, his tongue loosened by 
wine, began to make a confidant of our ambassador, 
and told him many very indiscreet but highly inter- 
esting things. Chouvaloff only replied with foolish 
jests and laughter, but no sooner was the German out 
of the Embassy than the ambassador, after plunging 
his head in a basin of iced water, sent for Bacheracht 
and dictated word for word a report of all the Ger- 
man diplomat had foolishly confided to him. 

When Chouvaloff left Berlin, being recalled by 
Nicholas, and made Governor-General of Poland — 
the Emperor came in person to the station to salute 
and say au revoir to his friend, whom he honoured 
by calling him **mein teure freund." Chouvaloff 
left nothing but universal regret in Berlin, and wrote 
a brilliant page in the annals of our diplomacy. 

I have already on several occasions referred to my 
chief. Count Osten-Sacken, who was Chouvaloff 's 
successor at Berlin, and who stayed there fifteen 
years, all through the most dangerous and trying 
times of our relations with the German Empire. 
Count Osten-Sacken was the son of the famous hero 
of Sebastopol. His family originated in the Baltic 
provinces and his ancestors were all of the Ortho- 
dox religion, and Eussians heart and soul. His 



THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 233 

grandfather had been killed on the battlefield during 
the Napoleonic Wars, and his great uncle Prince 
Osten-Sacken had been Military Governor of Paris 
in 1815. He had married a Princess Dolgorouki, 
whose ancestors had reigned in Moscow. He was her 
second husband. Her first was Prince Golitzin, our 
ex-Ambassador to Madrid. Countess Osten-Sacken 
was a woman of an exceedingly rare type. Married 
when she was only sixteen to Prince Golitzin, she had 
begun her wedded life in Paris, and had received in 
her salon the flower of the French diplomatic and 
political world of the day. Messieurs Guizot and 
Thiers were her intimates, and Chopin himself gave 
her piano lessons. Count Osten-Sacken had been 
Secretary of our Embassy at Madrid when Prince 
Golitzin was Ambassador. It was there that he first 
met his future wife, whom he married shortly after 
the death of the Prince. Countess Osten-Sacken was 
of inestimable value and a powerful support to her 
husband. She had been a childhood friend and play- 
mate of many of the Russian Grand Duchesses, and 
her position at court was a most distinguished one. 
She knew all the secrets. Emperor Nicholas was es- 
pecially fond of her, and always did her the honour 
of kissing her hand wherever and whenever they met. 
The German Emperor did the same thing. In her 
private life the Countess was simplicity personified, 
kind and affable to all, without excepting the most 
humble of her servants. Towards the members of 



234 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

her official family, she was like a tender mother, and 
we all cherish reverently affectionate memories of 
this noble woman. 

Count Osten-Sacken began his diplomatic career at 
eighteen years of age, as Attache at the Chancellery 
of Prince Paskevitch, Commander of the Russian 
armies on the Danube in the Russo-Turkish Wars 
(1854). After a short subsequent stay as Secretary 
to the Chancellery at Petrograd, and also as Secre- 
tary of the Embassy at Madrid, he left diplomatic 
life and did not re-enter it until 1864, being appointed 
at that time first Secretary and afterwards Charge 
d 'Affaires at Turin and at Florence. From there he 
went as Minister Resident to Darmstadt, and then as 
Minister to Munich, from which place he was ap- 
pointed Ambassador to Berlin in 1895. He had 
spent more than forty years of his diplomatic life in 
Germany, and naturally knew it most thoroughly in 
consequence, but strangely enough, both he and his 
wife massacred the German language horribly. A 
diplomat of the old school, he always spoke French 
by preference, and although extremely Russian by 
nature and sentiment, he wrote Russian with the 
greatest of difficulty. When Alexander III replaced 
French by Russian in the diplomatic reports and 
communications Count Osten-Sacken was at first 
much embarrassed, but despite his great age, he set 
to work like any schoolboy to learn it, and in two 



THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 235 

years his official reports written in the Russian lan- 
guage were used as models at Petrograd. 

From the previous chapters, it must be evident 
what a great part Count Osten-Sacken played in 
Berlin during most trying times. Destined always 
to suffer for the incredible and stupid caprices of 
Nicholas II and to support the intemperances, idiotic 
rages, and sullennesses of the German Emperor, it 
was only his absolute poise and dignity which made 
him so respected, both in Berlin and Petrograd, and 
enabled him to prevent any very serious complica- 
tions. In brief he was a great ambassador, and when 
he disappeared, though he was then practically at the 
end of his span of life, old and very frail, Eussian 
diplomacy soon learned what a brain and character 
it had lost. 

M. Sverbeef was his successor. He had previ- 
ously been Minister to Greece for about two years. 
He owed his sudden appointment exclusively to his 
friendship with Sazonoff. He was a good man, noth- 
ing more. He had very little personality. He could 
not hold the German Emperor in check, and the latter 
never took him seriously. One day for instance, at 
the time of the last visit of Nicholas II to Berlin, at 
luncheon in one of the barracks of the Imperial 
Guard, Sverbeef, contrary to usual etiquette, ap- 
peared in full uniform, wearing the Grand Cordon 
of Prussia, which had been bestowed on him the 



236 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

day before. Emperor William made fun of his cos 
tume, and said to him,, 

*'It is easy to see that you are a civilian.'* 

To which Sverbeef answered, *'I am so happy, 
Sire, at having received your Grand Cordon that I 
sleep in it. " 

The Emperor shot back, **And you are right, you 
received it very quickly — now endeavour to deserve 
it." 

I would very much like to have been present on 
any occasion when the Emperor would have dared 
say any such thing to Count Osten-Sacken ! Sver- 
beef was absent from Berlin during the summer of 
1914 at the time our relations with Germany were 
becoming more and more strained. When he re- 
turned, he said to M. Bronewsky, Councillor of the 
Embassy, 

''I believe, mon cher, that things are not going so 
well here." 

Five days later his passports were handed to him. 
I think that this one detail suffices to show how much 
our ambassador realized the seriousness of the 
situation. 

Nicholas II was represented in Paris by three am- 
bassadors during his reign, Baron de Mohrenheim, 
M. Nelidoff, and M. Iswolsky. I have already dealt 
fully with the last named. As for Baron Mohren- 
heim and M. Nelidoff, they were both incontest- 
ably statesmen, with horizons and understandings. 



THE EVE OF EEVOLUTION 237 

Baron de Mohrenheim had contributed much to our 
alliance with France and M. Nelidoff had been one 
of our most brilliant ambassadors in Turkey. Both 
men enjoyed in Paris positions of enormous influence. 
The recall of Nelidoff was solely due to an intrigue 
on the part of Iswolsky, which eventually forced 
Iswolsky's fall from the Foreign Office. He had, 
however, prepared for himself a comfortable nest in 
Paris. 

During the same period we had in London two am- 
bassadors, Baron de Staal, and Count Benckendorff. 
The first was a diplomat of the old school, prudent, 
and avoiding all serious action. He made a very 
good position for himself in the British capital, and 
was very clever in smoothing over any difficulties he 
discovered in his diplomatic path. The services he 
rendered Russia are not to be denied, especially if 
one takes into consideration that in his day, we were 
at the climax of Russo-British antagonism. 

His successor. Count Benckendorff, was one of our 
greatest ambassadors. Although he was of German 
origin, and had a sister married to Prince Hatzfeldt, 
Duke of Trachenberg, and also a Catholic, Bencken- 
dorff was Slav to his backbone. He was even more 
Russian than the Russians. An eye witness told me 
that he had tears in his eyes when he received a dis- 
patch from Sazonoff consenting to the abandonment 
of Scutari by the victorious Montenegrin army. The 
Serbian people had in him a powerful and convincing 



238 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

champion. I do not think that I exaggerate in the 
least when I assert that to Count Benckendorff the 
Slavic world owes the recognition of its interests by 
Great Britain. 

At Vienna, after Prince Lobanoff, we had no am- 
bassadors worth mentioning. Count Kapnist, who 
succeeded him, was perhaps the only one who made a 
position for himself in the Austro-Hungarian politi- 
cal world. As for M. de Giers, eldest son of our 
ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Schebeko, the 
former was an absolute nonentity, and the latter was 
only in Vienna for a short time. 

Among our ambassadors at Eome, it is only neces- 
sary to mention M. N. de Giers, second son of our ex- 
Foreign Minister. He had a long diplomatic career 
behind him, and was the last ambassador to Turkey, 
before our rupture with that country. Physically 
and morally he is his father's understudy; he is pru- 
dent and not entirely lacking in finesse, but he is not 
equal to any great sustained action. His appoint- 
ment as Minister of Foreign Affairs was often 
mooted, and of a surety, had he received the office he 
would not have been guilty of the blunders made by 
Sazonoff. 

At Constantinople, there were three ambassadors 
during the reign of Nicholas II; M. Zinovieff, M. 
Tcharikow, and M. de Giers, (junior). I have al- 
ready described the last and pass on to M. Zino- 
vieff. He was a deep student and connoisseur of 



THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 239 

Oriental matters and had spent part of his career in 
the Balkans and part in Turkey. He had been Min- 
ister to Persia, and Director of the First Department 
of Foreign Affairs, under which came all matters 
relating to Turkey. On one occasion in negotiating 
a treaty with Persia, the foreign ofiQce was ready to 
accede to certain amendments desired by the Persian 
government. Zinovieff ignored his official instruc- 
tions and insisted upon the original conditions. He 
always had a revolver on his writing table, as he had 
fully decided to kill himself if his plans failed. 
When he was ambassador at Constantinople he con- 
stantly asserted that the Young Turk party would 
of a certainty fall into the hands of Germany, and 
he strongly advised us not to support that party. 
But in Great Britain, the Young Turks were in high 
favour so the Petrograd Cabinet, which was then di- 
rected by Iswolsky, being most anxious for a com- 
plete understanding with Great Britain was not in- 
clined to follow Zinovieff 's advice, or heed his warn- 
ings. 

The old diplomat was therefore recalled, and his 
place filled by N. V. Tcharikow, who was a pro- 
Young Turk, and thus quite unconsciously, the way 
was opened for a Turko-German Alliance. The 
idealistic policy and attitude towards the Young 
Turks adopted by the London Cabinet, and the natu- 
ral desire of our Minister of Foreign Affairs to sup- 
port British statesmanship, played directly into the 



240 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

German Emperor's hands. Indeed, the British 
Liberal Party treated the Young Turk party almost 
as co-religionists, taking into no consideration the 
fact that their leader, Enver Pasha, was an out-and- 
out German mercenary. 

As for our ministers accredited to the smaller na- 
tions, it is only necessary to mention those who were 
really able men, or those who by their misplaced 
activities did the greatest harm. Among the first 
are, N. H. de JHartwig and D. K. Sementovsky- 
Kuzilo; among the second, A. W. Nikludoff and 
A. N. Savinsky. 

M. de Hartwig after having been Vice-Director and 
later Director of the first department in the bureau of 
Foreign Affairs (the Asiatic department) repre- 
sented our government in Persia, and afterwards in 
Serbia. He was very far-sighted, and perfectly un- 
derstood the troubles which were agitating Persia 
even in his day. He felt we should uphold the Shah. 
He also knew very well that Persia was not yet ready 
for a constitution, and that the Shah and only the 
Shah, was the foundation stone of order in his coun- 
try. Furthermore SLah Mahomet Ali was devoted to 
Russia body and soul, and this was still another rea- 
son why we should have given him our whole-hearted 
support. The British Liberal Cabinet, however, was 
anxious to support a constitutional government in 
Persia. When in 1907, Iswolsky concluded his 
Treaty with England which divided Persia into two 




M. SAZUiXOFF 



THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 241 

zones of influence, Shah Mahomet Ali abdicated in 
favour of his young son. As a result of our policy 
we lost our influence in southern Persia, and German 
influence replaced that of England at Teheran, just 
as it had done in Constantinople. In brief, Britain's 
idealism opened the road for German intrigue and 
Eealpolitik, whereas if Russia and Britain had fol- 
lowed the road of their own interests they would 
have weakened the German position. M. de Hartwig 
fought his hardest, and in consequence was the bete 
noire of the Germans. Iswolsky sacrificed him and 
sent him to Serbia, possibly with the hope that in the 
very slippery and dangerous Balkan region, he might 
break his neck. 

But shortly after his arrival at Belgrade, Hartwig 
created a most exceptional position for himself. 
The King, Prince Alexander Paschitch, none of 
these made any decision without first consulting him. 
He had cleverly instilled in the minds of all. the 
Serbian parties a love for Russia. I have seen him 
at his work, having been his guest for some time at 
Belgrade in 1912. Every morning his study was be- 
sieged by Serbian statesmen who came to get advice 
from him, but as usual the saying that a prophet is 
not without honour save in his own country held true, 
and Iswolsky and Sazonoff, possibly fearing a suc- 
cessor in Hartwig, took it upon themselves to para- 
lyze his actions and nullify his work. When Hart- 
wig warned our ministry that the first Balkan War 



242 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

was inevitable, Sazonoff sent him a note with orders 
to advise a moderate course to the Serbian govern- 
ment. Hartwig told me personally of the reception 
that such notes received at the hands of the Serbian 
government. One day when our minister had read 
one of these innumerable notes sent by Sazonoff to 
M. Paschitch, the old Serbian statesman said to him, 

*'Have you finished, mon cher ami? All right! 
C'est bien. Nous pouvons maintenant causer seri- 
eusement!" (We can now discuss matters seri- 
ously.) 

While M. Hartwig was at Belgrade, D. K. Semen- 
tovsky, also a very able man, and one who knew the 
Balkan situation thoroughly, was our minister at 
Sofia. Both these men were friends of long stand- 
ing and understood each other perfectly, but their 
combined efforts were of no avail against the preju- 
dices of our foreign ministers. 

Hartwig died very suddenly after drinking a cup 
of black coffee at the residence of the Austro-Hun- 
garian minister. As it was well known in Belgrade 
that our minister was hated and feared by the Aus- 
trians, of whom he was the sworn enemy, public 
opinion in Serbia still attributes his death to a politi- 
cal assassination by poisoning. The body was given 
a magnificent burial at the expense of the Serbian 
government ; the entire court, led by the King, all the 
political parties without exception and immense 
crowds followed the hearse. His death was the cause 



THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 243 

of national mourning in Serbia and the Serbian peo- 
ple erected a superb monument to him by subscrip- 
tion ; and an avenue in Belgrade was given his name. 

Before being appointed Minister to Sofia, D. K. 
Sementovsky-Kusilo had replaced M. Hartwig as 
Director of the First Department in the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, Iswolsky did not get on well with 
him and sent him to Bulgaria in order to get rid of 
him. His debut at Sofia was not at all promising. 
Ferdinand, knowing Iswolsky 's antipathy towards 
Sementovsky, hoped to find in the latter a docile in- 
strument. When he discovered that he had to do 
with a strong personality, he did everything possible 
to force his recall — not even hesitating to enmesh 
Sementovsky 's wife in an intrigue towards that end. 
But to give Nicholas II his due, on this occasion he 
did not consent to Sementovsky being recalled but 
supported him strongly. 

Subtle and evasive as ever, Ferdinand promptly 
changed his policy toward the Russian Legation. He 
offered the minister and his wife every courtesy al- 
ways in the hope of getting the Russian minister on 
his side of the fence ; but the latter continued on his 
own lines, thinking only of the good of his country. 
Unfortunately, Iswolsky rarely listened to his advice. 
Sazonoff, it is true, esteemed him greatly, but such 
esteem was not under the circumstances of much 
practical value unless it were backed with diplomatic 
support. 



244 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

M. Sementovsky died at Sofia of appendicitis. 
Relatively speaking he was a young man as diplo- 
mats go, being only forty-nine. The necessary 
operation performed by a very famous Viennese 
surgeon was a complete success, but he was after- 
wards attended by the Czar of Bulgaria's own phy- 
sician and it was common property in Belgrade that 
his death — like that of Hartwig — was due to assas- 
sination. 

Nicholas II had bad luck. Almost at the same mo- 
ment he lost two of his best diplomats and the men 
whom Sazonoff chose to replace them were not of the 
same calibre. 

A. W. Nikludoff, Councillor of the Paris Embassy, 
was appointed to Sofia. He was of mediocre intelli- 
gence and, in consequence, not in the least fitted to 
measure wits with Ferdinand — past master in all 
political intrigue. The Czar of Bulgaria did not 
concern himself about him one way or the other; 
in fact whole months passed by without his being 
received. 

Nikludoff, therefore, had not the faintest concep- 
tion of the real situation and did not believe there 
would be a Balkan War, even when it had become 
inevitable. He amused himself by studying Bul- 
garian history and sent the results of his studies to 
our Foreign Office. He one day read me a report of 
his on King Krum of Bulgaria, who lived before 



THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 245 

Bulgaria was conquered by Turkey!! (The Turks 
made their entry into Europe in 1453.) 

When Sazonoff himself recognized the utter im- 
possibility of keeping Nikludoff any longer at Sofia 
he made a delightful shuffle to replace him. As A. N. 
Savinsky was also compromised in Sweden, where 
he was our Minister at that time, Sazonoff simply 
made them exchange posts. 

I have already mentioned Savinsky in connection 
with Count Lamsdorif. The ''means" which he em- 
ployed to advance his career will therefore be re- 
membered. At Sofia his behaviour caused consider- 
able scandal. The Russian Legation became the cen- 
tre of nightly revels and was known as a veritable 
gambling hell by night while by day the Eussian 
Minister either promenaded the streets of Sofia 
dressed as a dandy, or made motor trips outside the 
city limits. It is said, however, that he foresaw the 
alliance of Bulgaria with the Central Powers. The 
truth of this I cannot vouch for, but in any case, a 
man with a past such as Savinsky 's, a man whom the 
Emperor himself had dubbed "The Countess Lams- 
dorff , ' ' ought not to have been included on the list of 
our diplomats in foreign countries. 

Of the diplomats accredited to the Russian Court 
during the last years preceding the Revolution, I 
knew Sir George Buchanan, the British Ambassador 
in Petrograd, when I was stationed at our Embassy 



246 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

in Berlin and he was Councillor of the British Em- 
bassy there. Buchanan is an Englishman in every 
sense of the word, an accomplished gentleman but 
cold and rather reserved. He had always dreamed 
of a Russo-British *' rapprochement. " He became 
very popular in Russia and was elected an Honor- 
ary Citizen of Moscow and a Member of the Univer- 
sity of the ancient capital. The Russian Liberals 
saw in him a support to their aspirations. 

France was represented at Petrograd by M. Paleo- 
logue, who had not had much experience as a diplo- 
mat, having had only one post, that of Minister at 
Sofia. At Petrograd M. Paleologue was hardly a 
success. He was looked upon as a light weight and 
was not very popular. The real influence of our 
western allies was concentrated in the person of Sir 
George Buchanan and consequently England was 
paramount in our policies. 

Marquis Carlotti, the Italian Ambassador, was an 
accomplished diplomat of the Machiavellian school. 
Astute, clever, he managed to know everything, and 
was ready at all times to make use of his knowledge. 
He did well for Italian nationalistic claims, forget- 
ting that the war was not a matter of one nation but 
of nations. None of our ministers or the foreign 
representatives appeared to grasp the fundamentals 
of German policy towards the Balkans. Italy, 
through her representatives in Petrograd, made the 
same error as Austria-Hungary. Her politicians 



THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 247 

and consequently her foreign representatives ignored 
and antagonized the Serbians and Jugo-Slavs. As 
will be obvious before the war is ended this policy 
must be changed. Carlotti did not appreciate criti- 
cism along such lines and did his best to prevent it, 
thinking he best served his country in that manner. 

Since the Revolution the Marquis Carlotti has been 
replaced by Marquis de la Toretta, a very clever man 
and a great friend of Russia and the whole Slavic 
world. 

The Japanese Ambassador, Viscount Motono, later 
Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, came to 
Petrograd at a very difficult time as the Eusso- 
Japanese War had hardly ended. But gradually 
Viscount Motono by his affability and extreme ability 
created an enviable position, not only for himself, 
but for his nation, at Petrograd. He belonged to the 
highest society and was as welcome in financial cir- 
cles as among the lower classes. He was not content 
with living only in Petrograd, but travelled all over 
our vast country so as to be able to study it thor- 
oughly at first hand. Belonging to Prince Ito's 
school, he was a fervent advocate of a binding alli- 
ance between Japan and Russia. Both our treaties 
with Japan (1907 and 1916) owe their existence 
chiefly to him as their author. He left Petrograd 
with nothing but the best of wishes and kindest 
thoughts on the part of us all. 

I have endeavoured to describe the personalities 



248 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

of our own ambassadors and ministers as well as 
those accredited to us, in order to give an exact pic- 
ture of the circumstances and characters which de- 
cided our foreign policy during the reign of Nicholas 
II. The vacillations and indeterminations of our 
policy were entirely due to the weak character of our 
Sovereign, which made our foreign ministry a ship 
without sails or rudder. This fact in conjunction 
with a domestic policy which was wholly reactionary 
and absolutely contrary to the sentiments of the ma- 
jority of the Russian people, was to lead us irrevoca- 
bly toward a revolution which was to engulf the Rus- 
sian monarchy under the ruins of the throne of 
Nicholas II. 



CHAPTER XI 

GENESIS 

The Origin of the Russian Revolution — The Ministers, the Clergy, 

Absence of Justice, Deprivations of Russian Society. 

General Dissatisfaction 

A REVOLUTIONAEY movement was first visible in Rus- 
sia in 1825, when Alexander I died. The mal-con- 
tents took advantage of the abdication of Alexander 's 
successor, the Grand Duke Constantin, in favour of 
his brother Nicholas, to create a rising among the 
troops. They spread the report that the abdication 
had been forced by undue influence, and they hoped 
to create a constitutional government, which would 
replace the autocracy. The conspiracy fell through 
and Nicholas I ascended the throne. There followed 
a reactionary reign of terror in Russia, and the 
flower of the military youth, all bearers of the high- 
est names in Russia, paid for their daring in the 
awful cold and snows of Siberia ! 

This first revolutionary outbreak had not an anti- 
Czarist character. It was a constitutional move- 
ment. A few regiments, especially of the Imperial 
Guard, officered by men who belonged to the aristoc- 

249 



250 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

racy of the country, supported the plot. But the 
people ignored it. Even the soldiers who took part 
in it understood next to nothing of what they were 
fighting for. They shouted "Vive Constantin and 
the Constitution" believing that "Constitution" was 
the wife of Constantin ! ! 

During the reign of Nicholas I the spirit of the 
revolution and many of the men who inspired it, 
spread over Europe. The famous Hertzen, the 
recognized leader of the movement, established him- 
self in London, founded a newspaper office there, and 
beat his war drums against the Russian autocracy, 
from the British capital After the death of 
Nicholas I, his successor, Alexander II, inaugurated 
an era of reform. In 1861 he freed the serfs (peas- 
ants) who had been slaves until then. He abolished 
the use of the knout in the army and established 
a provincial system of self-government, the Zemst- 
vos, and the jury system. In consequence the young 
Emperor became the idol of his people. Hertzen 
wrote to him from London, ' * You have conquered me, 
Galilean!" Unfortunately this almost ideal con- 
dition of affairs did not last long ! It was plain that 
the reforms instituted by the Emperor were the first 
steps towards abolishing autocracy. Russia awaited 
a constitution which would crown their monarch's ef- 
forts, but the Emperor stopped half way. Discon- 
tent followed, and the Emperor — instead of continu- 
ing his reforms — began to destroy those he had al- 



GENESIS 251 

ready instituted. In a very short time the whole 
nation was seething with revolutionary propaganda. 
The fanatics instituted a system of terrorism, minis- 
ters and provincial governors were assassinated in 
broad daylight, and finally Alexander II, one of the 
best rulers Eussia has ever had, and to whom the 
people had given the name of ^'Liberator Czar," 
was blown to pieces by a bomb in one of the avenues 
of Petrograd on March 1st, 1881. The horror, in- 
spired in the majority of the Russian people by the 
murder of their sovereign, greatly helped his suc- 
cessor, Alexander III, to institute a most reactionary 
policy. 

There were, however, some further outbreaks, but 
these were suppressed quite easily and once more 
the centre of the revolution moved elsewhere. When 
Nicholas II ascended the throne in 1894, Russia was 
still waiting for a serious attempt to bring about 
liberal refonns. It was greatly hoped that Nicholas 
II would continue the work of the first years of 
the reign of his grandfather, which was stopped 
throughout the reign of Alexander III. But 
Nicholas II did nothing. He apparently decided to 
continue the reactionary regime of his father. He 
declared, "I wish to leave the country to my son, 
even as I received it from my father." He sur- 
rounded himself with ultra-reactionary ministers. 
Count Witte was probably the only exception, but 
even he, absorbed by financial reforms, held aloof 



252 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

from anything' concerning the internal administra- 
tion. The Zemstvos were badly handicapped. Jus- 
tice was prostituted to the Government's general 
policy. Discontent was general and it was stimu- 
lated by revolutionary propaganda, which was 
stirred up as much in foreign capitals as in Eussia 
itself. Kevolution was, even then, in the air, and 
only a favourable moment for a general outbreak was 
wanting. That moment came after the unfortunate 
war with Japan. The war had exposed all our weak- 
nesses, and the rottenness of the government both 
civil and military. The national pride of the people 
had been deeply wounded and the army was dis- 
gusted and sore. 

The revolution broke out in Petrograd. A gen- 
eral strike was proclaimed, tne capital was plunged 
in darkness, deprived of water, food and fuel. Rail- 
way transportation was paralyzed. Petrograd was 
entirely isolated from the world. The Emperor 
Nicholas, nearly out of his mind with fear, issued the 
famous manifesto of October 17th, 1905, which gave 
to his people a kind of constitution. National repre- 
sentation through the Duma, freedom of speech, 
liberty — of the individual, of conscience, meetings, 
and the press was proclaimed, and Count Witte be- 
came President of the reformed Council of Ministers, 
which took the place of the old Cabinet of Ministers 
of the days of autocracy. But the revolutionary 
movement sweeping in full flood from Petrograd, 



GENESIS 253 

reached Moscow. Count Witte, to dam the flood, 
wanted to try persuasion. But the Minister of the 
Interior, A. N. Dournovo, advised the Emperor to act 
more firmly. He promised to throttle the revolution 
in its infancy, and the Emperor approving, the revo- 
lution in Moscow was choked in blood ! Count Witte 
promptly resigned, and reaction held high carnival 
all over Russia. The Duma tried to stem the ebb 
tide, but was dissolved twice and twice reconstituted 
by fraudulent elections. Finally it was forced to 
capitulate. 

From that moment the government went from bad 
to worse. Minister succeeded minister as water 
flows over a fall. The Empress came actively on the 
scene with all her scabby entourage, and the Emperor 
was only the shadow of a sovereign. At the begin- 
ning of the Great War, Nicholas seemed to win a cer- 
tain degree of popularity. At that critical moment 
the Russian people supported their Monarch, and in- 
ternal discussion was forgotten. But very soon seri- 
ous disasters to the Russian armies threw a pitiless 
light on the instability of the Emperor and the fatu- 
ity, weakness and corruption of the bureaucracy. 
Violent speeches were made and still more violent 
scenes took place in the Duma. The Duma de- 
manded direct participation in public affairs, but the 
Czar continued his fatal course. Then, for the first 
time, the trend of the revolution changed from the 
constitutional road it had followed up till this time 



254 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

and became openly anti-Czarist. Famine in Petro- 
grad, deliberately staged by an imbecile minister, 
finally rung the curtain down on the drama of the 
Eomanotfs on the 25th of February, 1917. 

In order to understand the last act of this drama 
it is necessary to know the personalities and char- 
acteristics of the principal actors who played their 
part in it, from 1905, the date of the real revolution, 
to 1917, the year of the Emperor's abdication. The 
first to come on the stage was Count Witte, President 
of the first Council of Ministers under the so-called 
Constitutional Government. Although bearing a 
German name he was a thorough Russian by birth 
and sentiment. He was a self-made man. "When 
he was thirty-one he was still a station master on 
the Western Eailroad of Eussia. He offered a sug- 
gestion to the directors which doubled the receipts 
of the company and was made a member of the com- 
pany's executive. T. T. Wichnegradsky, then Min- 
ister of Finance, noticed Witte 's work, and appointed 
him Superintendent-in-Chief of the Eight of Way of 
Eussian Eailways. About a year later he was ap- 
pointed Minister of Communications, and eleven 
months later succeeded Wichnegradsky as Minister 
of Finance. At that time he was barely forty. He 
was a man of quite unusual mentality, endowed with 
the practical imagination of a statesman who turns 
dreams into facts, ambitious, emotional, and deter- 
mined. No obstacles were great enough to deter him 



GENESIS 255 

when once he visualized his goal. In administering 
his department he piled reform on reform. To him 
Kussia owed the introduction of gold coinage and 
the monopoly of alcohol. While he held office France 
lent Eussia huge sums for development and the for- 
eign capitals began to rain money into our com- 
mercial enterprises. 

The aristocracy regarded Witte as a parvenu. 
The bureaucracy envied his phenomenally rapid 
rise. They combined to plot his fall. But Witte 
was not easily caught. He scattered his enemies 
from his path, beating down some and buying others. 
He bought for the State, for double its value, a do- 
main of Count Worontzoff-Dachkoff, Minister of 
the Court during the reign of Alexander III, and he 
appointed Kokowtzoff his Assistant Minister, thus 
assuring himself of the vital support of these two 
statesmen. Having studied the evil side of human 
nature, Witte profoundly suspected and feared it. 
He said to me one day, ''I am reproached with hav- 
ing corrupted society and with buying my people. 
I, the purchaser, am not to blame. The blame rests 
with a society so rotten that it permits itself to be 
bought! For the good of my country I hesitate at 
nothing. ' ' 

When Nicholas II ascended the throne Witte was 
at the pinnacle of his power. As Minister of 
Finance, his influence was felt in every other depart- 
ment of the government. He made the same mistake 



256 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

with the Emperor, that Bismarck made with the 
Emperor William. He treated the young monarch 
as a school boy. It is said that at times he was 
vulgar and rude in his presence. Whenever the 
Emperor attempted to contradict him, he immedi- 
ately presented his resignation, which he knew very 
well Nicholas did not dare accept. But when he fell 
he gave another illustration of how much he re- 
sembled Bismarck. He, like the famous German, 
lacked personal dignity in his disgrace. He criti- 
cized the Emperor, the Government and especially 
his successors, and began to cultivate the press, as- 
siduously, behaving like a caged lion. He had but 
one fixed idea, to regain power! 

His opportunity came at the conclusion of peace 
between Russia and Japan. In the weak and po- 
litically impoverished ranks of our diplomatic serv- 
ice there was no striking personality, who by his 
name alone, could influence our adversary. Public 
opinion unanimously pointed to Witte as being the 
only man to whom the nation could confide its in- 
terests at so serious a time. Despite his personal 
antipathy to him, Nicholas appointed Witte, First 
Minister-Plenipotentiary to the Portsmouth Confer- 
ence. There in the realm of foreign affairs which 
was an entirely new departure for him, he gave 
evidence of his remarkable abilities. Public opin- 
ion in the United States was far from being favour- 
able to Russia owing to her treatment of the Jews. 



GENESIS 257 

Japan had won American sympathy and financial 
support. It was therefore a problem of extreme 
importance to change the American viewpoint, and 
Witte gave it his first attention. 

The Japanese Plenipotentiaries wished first of all 
to discuss those clauses of the treaty on which they 
were determined to insist, and with which Russia 
could only comply if absolutely forced to do so. 
Witte, however, first took up the less important 
clauses which were more or less acceptable to Russia. 
In this way the American public began to think that 
Russia was ready to make any sacrifices in order 
to ensure the peace which the Americans ardently 
desired to see signed. Russia was thus fast regain- 
ing American sympathy when the time came to dis- 
cuss those clauses to which Russia refused to con- 
sent, such for instance as a heavy indemnity. 
Witte 's ground was already prepared. Public 
opinion began to accuse Japan of obstinacy and a 
desire to thwart peace. It was believed that if Rus- 
sia was willing to give way on the first points, Japan 
might do as much for the remainder. In view of 
this, and not wishing to antagonize American opin- 
ion, the Japanese plenipotentiaries gave way. The 
Treaty of Portsmouth was not a very bad one for 
Russia ! 

Witte returned in great triumph to Russia. Em- 
peror William made a point of meeting him as he 
passed through Berlin on his way to Petrograd. 



258 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

The German Emperor felt that Witte's star would 
again be in the ascendant, and he wished to win 
such a proven statesman and diplomat over to his 
own interests. • 

Witte has often been accuse^Jbf being German- 
ophile. Witte was not Germanophile, Francophile 
or Anglophile, he was Russophile! The German 
Emperor, for all his attentions, was very far from 
having any personal sympathy with Witte. As a 
matter of fact, during the last years of Alexander 
III and the first years of Nicholas II, when Witte was 
omnipotent, the Emperor William had been very 
afraid of him. He had learnt that here was a Rus- 
sian statesman who could not be bullied by Germany. 
For example, the German Government, wanting to 
bring economic pressure to bear on Russia, prohib- 
ited the importation of Russian geese into Germany. 
Witte countered at once by an economic war and be- 
gan by prohibiting the importation of a series of 
articles of German manufacture which made a hole 
in the German budget of more than 18,000,000 
roubles. 

When Witte fell from power the first time the 
German Emperor was greatly pleased. After the 
treaty of Portsmouth William believed he had won 
Witte to his point of view, but when he realized that 
this was not the case, he detested him more than ever 
and the news of Witte 's secand downfall was greeted 
at Berlin with much joy. 



GENESIS 259 

Witte's whole policy, as lie detailed it more than 
once to me after his fall, was: ''Russia must pur- 
sue a peaceful policy in order to increase her econo- 
mic well being. We can get on perfectly well with 
Germany by recognizing her rightful interests, and 
forcing her to respect ours. If William should be- 
come arrogant, we can make him lower his flag by 
means of our understanding with France. We must 
follow the same policy where England is concerned. 
As against her we can always count on having Ger- 
many at our disposal. The antagonism which ex- 
ists between Germany and England is our trump 
card. Iswolsky made a grave mistake by bringing 
about the British understanding and Sazonoff was 
still more wrong in permitting himself to be guided 
by that alliance. No good can come of it for Rus- 
sia. We are not in a fit state for a war with Ger- 
many. Such a war, to succeed, must have a wholly 
national character. In order for a war to be na- 
tional, we must have a popular sovereign. Nicholas 
II is not popular and therein lies the very gravest 
danger. A second unfortunate war for us might 
easily be the prelude to a revolution." 

Such a political ''credo" can hardly be called 
Germanophile in sentiment. It is that of a states- 
man with big ideas and a very wide outlook. I was 
very intimate with Witte, and saw him at least twice 
a week and there was rarely a day when we did 
not speak by telephone. I think, therefore, that 



260 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

probably I knew him better than most people and 
could appreciate his fine qualities and realize his 
great faults. It was nothing but his desire to re- 
gain power at any price which alienated public 
opinion. He flattered the Imperial Court and as- 
siduously cultivated the Grand Dukes and states- 
men who found favour in the eyes of the Sovereign. 
He was an habitue of the aristocratic salons, and it 
is said did not even disdain Easputin. It was in this 
way he alienated the Liberals. On the other hand 
he carefully cultivated the press and sought the 
friendship and esteem of the Duma, and so alien- 
ated the Court and high bureaucracy. When he 
died (1915) he had been for a long time without 
any political support whatsoever, and with only 
a very few intimate friends. And yet, during the 
last years of his life, when he mounted the tribune 
of the Council of State, every one present listened 
to him with serious attention. 

Only a few years before his death Witte miracu- 
ously escaped an attempt against his life. An in- 
fernal machine had been placed in the chimney of 
his study which was fortunately noticed by his serv- 
ant who was about to light a fire. A judicial in- 
vestigation followed. It was established that the 
conspiracy had been hatched by the party of Ex- 
treme Eeaction, (Black Bands). Despite the in- 
sistence of Witte, the matter was hushed up. More 
than that, when the Count at his wife's insistence, 



GENESIS 261 

asked for a detective to protect him in future, the 
police chose a man for the position who belonged 
to the Black Bands, and who shortly afterwards 
was found assassinated by order of the revolution- 
ary committee as an admitted spy. Witte told me 
that the so-called guardian of his person was neither 
more nor less than another assassin sent by his 
enemies! Such were the means used by the Black 
Band when it tried to get rid of its opponents, 

"Witte 's many enemies whispered to Nicholas II 
that the retired statesman was aiming at becoming 
president of a Russian Republic. It was an infam- 
ous lie. Witte was a thorough Czarist, but he desired 
that Czarism should be supported by a more or less 
Liberal Constitution. He was very proud of the 
Imperial Manifesto of the 17th October. He said to 
me, *' Nicholas may detest me as much as he likes, 
but he will never be able to destroy the letter he 
wrote to me when the Manifesto was issued! I in- 
sisted that his letter should be published at the same 
time as the Manifesto, and I have ordered it to be en- 
graved on my tombstone ! The Russian people will 
at last know the part I played at that time!" 

Such was the man, Nicholas II dismissed on two 
occasions as he would a valet! I do not believe that 
during the last half century Russia has had a states- 
man his equal. 

Ivan Loguinovitch Goremikine, who succeeded 
Witte as President of the Council of Ministers, was 



262 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

the complete antithesis of his predecessor. He 
was an aristocrat whose family had always played 
some part in the history of Russia since the days 
of Ivan the Terrible. He had had a long bureau- 
cratic career and had held among other offices that of 
the Ministry of the Interior. It would be unjust to 
call him a reactionary. He approached more nearly 
to the type of the English Tory. He instinctively 
regarded administration as government by law. If 
the law was bad then it could be changed but as 
long as the law was on the statute books it must be 
obeyed absolutely. One day he said to me: 

''When I was Minister of the Interior the general 
opinion was that I was a Liberal. I was given the 
name of the Red Flag Minister. Yet in 1906 when 
I was President of the Council for the first time, 
everybody thought me a reactionary. I am neither 
a reactionary nor a radical. I am a man who stands 
by the law." 

Such sentiments were a serious fault in any min- 
ister who desired to succeed during sach times. A 
law which served in the Russia of 1900 could not 
serve the needs of 1906. Russia was suffering the 
birth-pangs of a new era. Her doctors diagnosed 
her case as the bad temper of a child. 

Goremikine was very badly received by the Duma, 
which desired above all to emphasize its independ- 
ence. Directly he attempted to speak, cat calls and 
shrill whistles resounded everj^where. The Em- 



GENESIS 263 

peror had two courses open to him. He could dis- 
solve the Duma or he could form a constitutional 
ministry with its assistance. The Democratic Con- 
stitutional Party, (Cadets) was so sure of obtain- 
ing power that a list of ministers was made out, 
in which appeared the name of Milioukoff as Premier 
and Foreign Minister. The Emperor, hearing of 
this, summoned the Council of State to discuss the 
situation. The majority of the Council pronounced 
in favour of a constitutional government. Gore- 
mikine and Stolypin, the Minister of the Interior in 
his cabinet, urged dissolution. When the Council 
was dismissed the Emperor requested Goremikine 
to wait and then expressed to him his chagrin 
with the sentiments expressed by the majority. He 
asked Goremikine what could be done. The latter 
replied : 

"I do not change my opinion. The present con- 
stitution gives you the right to decide whether you 
will dissolve the Duma or accede to the sentiment 
of the majority. You are the master and must 
make your choice. The Duma has entirely over- 
stepped its rights and must be put in its place." 

The Emperor bowed his head in his hands and 
stood thus for some minutes in deep reflection. He 
then went slowly up to Goremikine. Making the 
sign of the cross he exclaimed: 

*'In God's name dissolve the Duma, I entirely 
agree with your point of view." 



264 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

After his interview with the Emperor, Goremi- 
kine drafted the proclamation dissolving the Duma 
and went direct to the state printer and ordered it 
to be printed and immediately issued. He found 
there a proclamation of the Cadet Party to the peo- 
ple anticipating the formation of a really constitu- 
tional cabinet by the Emperor. He personally con- 
fiscated the proofs and took them to his house in 
his carriage. One of his most striking qualities 
was his calmness at critical times. He was not in 
the least disturbed though of course he realized the 
gravity of the situation. He dined with his family 
quietly and afterwards smoked and played solitaire 
as usual, without showing any signs of perturbation. 
He then retired. At half past eleven a special 
courier came from the Emperor with a message to 
the effect that Nicholas had changed his mind. He 
desired the minister to cancel the proclamation of 
dissolution and requested him to come to Tsarskoe 
Seloe the next day at eleven in the morning. 

Goremikine sent his valet to the courier with a 
message that the Minister was not well and was 
asleep but that the message would be delivered 
when he awoke. But Goremikine carefully did noth- 
ing and next day to the Emperor's stupefaction 
there appeared the decree of dissolution. The Min- 
ister went to Tsarskoe Seloe as requested and told 
the Emperor he regretted the mistake and blamed 
his valet who had not desired to awaken him. He 



GENESIS 265 

then presented his resignation which the Emperor 
refused to accept. 

Demonstrations against the Government were pre- 
pared for. But the public in general was tired of 
revolutionary disorders and almost welcomed the 
dissolution of the Duma. The members of the Cadet 
Party fled to Viborg in Finland and from there is- 
sued their proclamation to the people. It fell ab- 
solutely flat. 

Goremikine however was obdurate. He again pre- 
sented his resignation telling the Emperor that any 
opprobrium for the dissolution which might come 
later ought to fall on him, who was really to blame, 
and insisted that his resignation be accepted. The 
Emperor finally gave way and at Goremikine 's re- 
quest appointed Stolypin to succeed him. Knowing 
Stolypin's character it always seemed to me in think- 
ing this matter over that Goremikine had a grim 
sense of humour. 

The new President of the Council before serving 
as Minister of the Interior had been governor of 
Saratoff on the Volga. He was relatively a young 
man about forty-five, very ambitious, astute, de- 
termined, but inclined to be narrow minded and 
provincial. His critics nicknamed him ^^The Gov- 
ernor of All the Russias." He ruled Russia as if it 
were Saratoff. As President of the Council he pur- 
sued an ultra nationalistic policy and this naturally 
led to the further estrangement of the Poles and 



266 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Finns. He was supported in this policy by the No- 
voie Vremya of which his brother was a director. 

When he discovered that there was no outburst 
of sympathy and apparently no regret for the de- 
parted Duma, he was anxious to appropriate all the 
credit for the dissolution and openly boasted of his 
success in preventing ''stupid constitutional re- 
forms." He was to receive a lesson on the folly of 
vanity. 

Meanwhile Goremikine, the real author of the 
Duma's downfall, was staying with me at my villa 
at Tergensee and together we visited Paris, Goremi- 
kine enjoying his freedom from office and state 
affairs with all the abandonment of youth. He was 
intensely amused when he heard that Stolypin was 
appropriating a responsibility which he himself had 
felt to be most serious and from which he was only 
too anxious to escape. His amusement, however, 
was changed to regret when we heard that Stolypin 's 
residence in Petrograd had been destroyed by a bomb 
and that Stolypin himself only escaped death by a 
miracle, as he fell from the second floor to the ground 
floor yet only received some bruises and scratches. 
Twenty people were killed and wounded and the 
Minister's children were badly hurt. 

Stolypin 's first act was to arrange for elections 
to the Duma. He was determined that the new 
Duma should not be impregnated with the radical- 
ism of the Cadets and relied on the Peasants, Cler- 



GENESIS 267 

icals and Conservatives to give that support to the 
Government, which was so plainly lacking in the 
first Duma. He succeeded in attaining his object as 
far as the arrangement of the parties was concerned, 
but he soon discovered that he had over-reached 
himself. The Peasants and Clericals turned out 
to be infinitely more revolutionary than the Cadets 
and a socialist plot against the Czar in the Duma 
itself, was nipped in the bud. Stolypin thereupon 
dissolved the Second Duma and the Socialistic mem- 
bers concerned in the plot were brought before a 
judge and banished to Siberia. Among them was 
Tseretelli, who after the Revolution became a cab- 
inet minister in Kerensky's government. 

By the use of even more unscrupulous methods in 
the elections the Third Duma proved a docile instru- 
ment in the hands of the Minister. The majority 
was in the hands of a new party, the Octobrist, 
which was constitutional but not so advanced as the 
Cadets. But Stolypin was even now not content. 
He wanted more and more power and even the mild 
criticism of the Octobrists spurred him to reaction. 
He formed a party, which was called Nationalist, 
and through this party instituted a new reactionary 
campaign against the Jews, Finns, and Poles. In 
this policy he was violently supported by the Novoie 
Vremya, which during this entire period earned for 
itself a bad reputation. It always supported the 
power "in being" whether good or bad and had no 



268 RECOLLECTIONS OP A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

principles outside this policy. One of the greatest 
Eussian satirists, Soltikoff, (Tchedrine), gave the 
paper the name of "What-you-Will." 

In consequence extreme discontent arose through- 
out Eussia. The Jews, Finns and Poles combined 
with the intellectuals against Stolypin. Opposition 
only seemed to make him more determined. He be- 
came more and more reactionary and unscrupulous 
in his use of authority to suppress any opposition, 
although in the Duma he still kept his ascendancy 
owing to his magnificent oratory and appearance. 
But the more he stamped on the embers of revolu- 
tion in one place, the more he used the weapons of 
reaction and encouraged the Black Bands, the 
stronger grew the sentiment against him and his 
government. Finally he was assassinated by a Jew 
named Bagroff, in the presence of the Emperor and 
Empress at a gala performance in the theatre of 
Kiev. 

Had he escaped the assassin's shot, his political 
assassination was certain. He had already been con- 
demned by the Emperor who had been persuaded 
by Stolypin 's enemies that the Minister was lead- 
ing Eussia on the road to ruin. His resignation 
was only a matter of days. His assassin after- 
wards declared that his real intent had been to kill 
the Emperor, and that it was only at the last moment 
he had decided to murder the Premier instead! 
Thus Stolypin died, as a matter of fact, for his sov- 



GENESIS 269 

ereign! But despite this the Emperor did not at- 
tend the funeral of his Minister, giving as his ex- 
cuse that on that day he had promised to review the 
main body of troops just outside the city. 

This pretence again shows the character of the 
Emperor ! The ingratitude of Nicholas equalled his 
vacillation. 

A monument was erected to Stolypin at Kiev but 
it was destroyed in the final revolution. 

While he had been in power, Stolypin was forced 
to accept as Minister of Finance, Count Kokowtzoff, 
a strong political adversary. The Emperor insisted 
upon this appointment, faithful to his principle, 
divide et impera. Kokowtzoff now succeeded to the 
presidency of the Council. 

This statesman had had a long bureaucratic ca- 
reer. Born of an impoverished family of the lesser 
nobility, he owed his success to his own zeal and in- 
telligence, though perhaps more especially to his 
intimate knowledge of finance. As has been already 
stated, for a time he had been an antagonist of Count 
"Witte, but the latter bought his assistance by ap- 
pointing him Vice-Minister of Finance, and Kokowtz- 
off became one of his principal collaborators and as- 
sistants in all his projects. 

Later Kokowtzoff became Minister of Finance, and 
held the position for ten years. Although he was 
most intelligent, he was very narrow minded. The 
wide horizons which mark the great statesman were 



270 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

absolutely lacking in him. A remarkable '^Budget- 
ist," all Ms efforts were bent on increasing the 
wealth of the state. He wrangled over every 
penny of credits which other ministers requested, 
and naturally the State suffered. A wit once com- 
pared him to a certain beggar in Montmartre, one 
of the poorest quarters in Paris, who starved to 
death in his attic and in whose mattress 15,000 francs 
were found after his death. 

Kokowtzoff was a great orator. He could speak 
for hours together on any subject, and was always 
an enthusiastic admirer of his own verbosity. 
Witte, with whom he had quarrelled a second time, 
called him ' * a lark. ' ' 

*'He is a bird that sings very well, but otherwise 
is not worth much, ' ' he said. 

Kokowtzoff did not lack character. For instance 
when Witte sent him to Paris, after the Kusso- 
Japanese War, to arrange for a loan, he succeeded 
despite the opposition of Clemenceau, the then pow- 
erful Minister of Interior of the French Government. 
Meeting with such opposition Kokowtzoff did not 
hesitate to threaten Clemenceau with the fact that 
if the projected loan were refused by France he 
would declare Eussia bankrupt ! 

Clemenceau said to me: "Your Kokowtzoff is 
not a minister I He is a blackmailer of the first 
water!'* But he agreed to the loan! 

In his relations with the Duma, Kokowtzoff tried 



GENESIS 271 

to be as conciliatory as possible, but Ms efforts were 
not often crowned with success. He bad no party 
on which he could effectively rely. Towards 
the end of his tenure of office he staged an 
excellent burlesque. He had entirely stopped ap- 
pearing in the Duma, and ordered all the other Min- 
isters to do the same! It was a sort of strike of 
the Ministers against the Duma. 

Kokowtzoff 's greatest quality was his unimpeach- 
able honesty, which he maintained in his private 
affairs as well as in matters of state. In this re- 
spect he distinguished himself as being far above 
the Eussian statesmen of the last years of the 
Monarchy. He had flatly refused to meet the Court 
favourite, Rasputin, and the latter avenged himself 
by becoming one of the prime movers in his down- 
fall. From his father he had inherited a small 
property not far from Petrograd. When he re- 
signed, this little property was all that he possessed 
in the world. 

In dismissing him, the Emperor offered him a 
gift of 300,000 roubles, but Kokowtzoff refused it, 
saying to the Emperor that his appointment as a 
member of the Council of the Empire amply sufficed 
for his modest tastes and needs. 

Instead of appreciating this rare quality in a Rus- 
sian statesman, Nicholas was seemingly much an- 
noyed by it. After his retirement, the Sovereign 
always avoided seeing Kokowtzoff and the only time 



272 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

that lie did receive him was because it could not be 
avoided. 

While he was in power, Kokowtzoff had not fore- 
seen the revolution. He continued to hope that by 
concessions to the Duma the existing state of things 
could be made to last, at least until the end of the 
Great War. He changed his mind after his resig- 
nation, however. Having re-entered private life he 
naturally came in contact with all kinds and condi- 
tions of people. He was frankly spoken to by all 
sides and thus obtained a far better idea of Rus- 
sian sentiment in general. 

I knew Kokowtzoff when I was a young man and 
had always been very intimate with him. For a 
certain time while he was in power our relations 
were troubled, for my newspaper opposed him. 
After his resignation, however, we returned to the 
old friendly basis, and I saw him very often. 

He was always very sad and quiet and did not hide 
from me that he felt the Court had, on his advice, 
followed a fatal policy. He then foresaw the revolu- 
tion clearly, and said, too, that it was not far dis- 
tant — even that it would take place before the war 
was over. Of Nicholas he remarked : 

**The Emperor obstinately refuses to see any- 
thing, or permit himself to be shown anything. He 
seems as if he were still drunk with the ovations he 
received at the time of the fetes of the 300th Anni- 
versary of the Romanoff dynasty. He does not hear 



GENESIS 273 

the grumbling of the coming revolution because of 
the cheers of the multitude. If he insists upon sur- 
rounding himself with such indolent ministers as 
Goremikine and with such scamps as Stunner and 
Rasputin, the end is near at hand." 

Unfortunately Kokowtzoff did not impart his opin- 
ions to any but his most intimate friends. He did 
not act, neither did he try to influence the Court. 
When the Emperor learned by accident of his point 
of view and appeared interested in it, he was slily 
informed that Kokowtzoif still rankled over his dis- 
missal from office and that therein might be found 
the real key to his ideas and actions. 

His well known honesty saved Count Kokowtzoff 
at the time of the Revolution. He was not even ar- 
rested as were most of the ministers of the old re- 
gime. 

To the stupefaction of all political circles Goremi- 
kine was appointed successor to Kokowtzoff. Gore- 
mikine was seventy-seven years old, and had the gen- 
eral reputation of a reactionary. By his nomina- 
tion it seemed plain that the Emperor intended, if 
possible, to pursue a still more autocratic policy. 
The Emperor gave immediate proof of this when 
he summoned a council of the ministers over which 
he himself presided. At this conference he told the 
Council that it must look to Goremikine for every- 
thing as he had the utmost confidence in him and was 
determined to support him in every way possible. 



274 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Goremikine, immediately after the council, requested 
the members of the press to wait upon him and 
told them that he was determined to follow a policy 
which would have the approval of the Duma, if the 
Duma in its turn gave him the necessary support. 
To do this, however, he must have time as circum- 
stances were such as to make it most difficult to 
bring about such reforms as the Duma demanded 
without running the risk of destroying the fabric of 
the Russian government. The Duma received this 
declaration without enthusiasm but in a not un- 
friendly spirit. Goremikine was somewhat encour- 
aged thereby as it was a very different reception 
from that which he had experienced the first ti"^'^ he 
had been President of the Cabinet. 

Goremikine intimated that he would dismiss 
Soukhomlinoff, the Minister of War, Maklakoff, the 
Minister of the Interior and Tcheglowitoff, the Min- 
ister of Justice, all of whom were very much dis- 
liked by the Duma and Liberal circles in Eussia. 
Unfortunately Goremikine was an extreme procras- 
tinator. He always put off till tomorrow the things 
he should have done today. His characteristic in- 
dolence had increased with his years, and all three 
ministers remained in office despite his seeming 
promise to purge Russia of their disastrous influ- 
ence. One evening I was dining en famille with 
Goremikine and strongly criticized the policy of the 
three ministers, especially that of Soukhomlinoff. 



GENESIS 275 

Goremikine said nothing at the moment, but after- 
wards, just as I was going home, he said : 

*'You are quite right, my dear friend, but have 
patience. You must not forget it is necessary to 
manage the Emperor." 

I replied: ''Take care, Ivan Loganovitch, that 
when you think the time is ripe to manage the Em- 
peror you do not find that he is no longer the Em- 
peror. ' ' 

Goremikine answered sadly: "I know, — I know 
what you mean, but you know my sentiments regard- 
ing him. I have too much affection for him. I have 
known him too long. ' ' 

In these words Goremikine summed up a situation 
I knew only too well. Witte had said to me on one 
occasion that Goremikine was nothing but '*a maitre 
d 'hotel" to the Emperor. But this was not true. 
The old statesman regarded his master with the af- 
fection a man may feel towards a youth who has 
been his pupil. He knew and deplored the weak- 
nesses of the Emperor but he could not find it in his 
heart to deal drastically with him. He spoilt him, 
always hoping that in time the good qualities he 
saw in his pupil would overcome the weakness of 
his character. One day he severely criticized the 
Emperor to my sister, especially with regard to his 
folly regarding Rasputin ; he said : 

"The Emperor knows my affection for him and 
yet he treats me as if I were his valet de chambre. ' ' 



276 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

My sister replied: ''Yes, but if the Emperor 
recalls you, you will go to him just as a dog to the 
whistle of his master." 

Goremikine answered: ''You are right, but what 
can I do? I love him and I can refuse him noth- 
ing." 

It was clear that this sentiment of Goremikine, 
combined with his indolence and age, would create an 
impossible situation. It became no longer a ques- 
tion of reform, but of expediency — ^that fatal weak- 
ness in all politics and diplomacy. The ministers 
did as they pleased in their departments and the 
cabinet was not united on any definite policy, and 
when in due course, Goremikine was told that min- 
isters were blundering he took refuge in ignorance. 
"I do not know what they do," he would cry. He 
forgot he was intrusted with full powers. He was 
like a stage manager who refuses to be responsible 
for the interpretation of their parts by the actors. 
It was as though he staged a drama and then sat in 
a box and criticized it. Goremikine sat comfortably 
in his chair and exclaimed : 

"Eh! but this is a horrible play. It bores me. 
Why did I ever come to see it ? " 

Usually at cabinet councils he slept. In the eve- 
nings when he should have been hard at work he 
played solitaire. The most powerful minister in 
Russia played solitaire while Russia slid into the 
abyss ! 



GENESIS 277 

Once, however, Goremikine showed a flash of his 
old self. After Austria sent the ultimatum to Ser- 
bia and mobilized, Goremikine called a meeting of 
the Cabinet. He told the ministers that they must 
make up their minds to the course Eussia must pur- 
sue if Germany and Austria were determined on 
war. A hot discussion followed and Goremikine 
seemingly went to sleep. One minister after the 
other spoke and the majority were in favour of com- 
ing to some understanding with Austria and Ger- 
many if possible. Suddenly Goremikine opened his 
eyes and said: 

**Well, gentlemen, I have heard all you have to say 
and will tell the Emperor that you have unanimously 
decided we must stand by Serbia to the end." And 
he added fiercely yet with great dignity, as if to re- 
mind the Council that it had forgotten something: 
**Our honour is at stake." 

He then went to the Emperor and suggested that 
everything possible must be done to preserve peace, 
and as a result Sazonoff, the Foreign Minister, sent 
a circular telegram to our ambassadors in Paris, 
London and Berlin, asking for the friendly inter- 
vention of those powers between Eussia and Aus- 
tria. The Emperor Nicholas sent a personal tele- 
gram to the Emperor William suggesting the same 
thing. But what happened is well known. Sir Ed- 
ward Grey proposed a conference which was ac- 
cepted by France and Eussia but refused by Ger- 



278 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

many. Emperor William, after having prepared 
for war for forty-four years, encouraged Austria to 
stand fast. When Austria finally realized that Rus- 
sia would not abandon Serbia, Count Szapary, her 
ambassador in Petrograd, was instructed to see 
Sazonoff and endeavour to gain time. Meanwhile, 
however, Eussia had ordered the mobilization of ner 
Southern and Western armies at Kiev, Warsaw and 
Odessa against Austria, in reply to the mobilization 
of the latter. Despite the peaceful efforts of the 
French, Russian and English cabinets, the Emperor 
William, being afraid some arrangement might be 
come to, ordered the secret mobilization of Germany. 
By mistake this was disclosed by the Lokal Anseiger 
of Berlin. The paper was promptly suppressed but 
in Russia the secret was already known and orders 
were given for general mobilization. Immediately 
there came from Berlin the German ultimatum de- 
manding the demobilization of all Russian forces in 
twelve hours, which was followed by the declaration 
of war against Russia and France. 

At the beginning of the war the Emperor Nicholas 
desired to nominate himself Commander-in-Chief of 
Russia's troops, but Goremikine insisted that the 
Grand Duke Nicholas should be appointed to the su- 
preme command. In consequence when he came to 
the Duma and told the deputies what had been done, 
he was received enthusiastically for the first time in 
his official career. 



GENESIS 279 

Henceforward Goremikine 's whole policy was di- 
rected to making every sacrifice necessary to win 
the war. He had determined that on no account 
must there be any patched up peace. He said to 
me: 

*'If we lose Warsaw, Petrograd, and even Moscow, 
and retire to the Volga, we must never make peace 
until militarism has been destroyed." 

But unfortunately Goremikine forgot that in or- 
der to win the war it must be popular and to be pop- 
ular the government must be in agreement with the 
people especially in its domestic policies. 

This was impossible as long as the Emperor was 
surrounded by such men as Rasputin, Maklakoff and 
Tcheglowitoff, and under the entire influence of the 
Empress, all of which the people knew perfectly well. 
The liberal and progressive influences, which were 
perfectly ready to assist the Government in every 
way possible, were regarded by this clique as revo- 
lutionary. The discontent of the people became ever 
greater and greater and yet when I told Goremikine 
we were heading straight for a revolution, he only 
replied: 

''That is all nonsense. Reform is necessary but 
it must come after the war. As for revolution it is 
nothing but the dust on the healthy body of Russia. 
When I breathe on it, it will disappear." 

What must have been the thoughts of the old 
statesman, when, after the Revolution, seated in a 



280 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

motor car accompanied by soldiers and workmen, 
and spat upon by the people, he was escorted hatless 
through the streets of Petrograd, with the ther- 
mometer thirty below zero, to the Fortress of St. 
Peter and St. Paul. 

Goremikine's fall was entirely unexpected by him. 
"When the former Assistant Minister of the Interior, 
Beletzky, who was in close relationship with the 
Court and with Easputin, informed him that the 
Emperor had determined to replace him with 
Sturmer, Goremikine replied: 

"That is impossible. He might ask for my resig- 
nation but he never could replace me with such a 
nonentity as Sturmer." 

On the day before his dismissal the Empress ac- 
tually wrote to Madame Goremikine, who showed 
me the letter, which said "as long as your dear hus- 
band is at the head of affairs we sleep soundly. He 
takes good care of Eussia and of us." 

Such was the despicable treachery of the Emperor 
and his court to those who served and loved him. 

Goremikine's end was tragic. Eighty years old, 
he was assassinated by the Bolsheviki at Sotche in 
the Caucasus, with his wife who was over seventy 
and his son-in-law. General Ovtchinnikoff. Of all the 
ministers during the reign of Nicholas, he and Witte 
had the greatest individuality and independence. 
He should havs held the office of Foreign Minister. 



GENESIS 281 

He had the great quality of resistance which none of 
the other ministers had. 

Count Witte, who was personally antagonistic to 
him, said to me one day, when the question of the 
nomination of Goremikine as minister of Foreign 
Affairs was mooted. 

"Goremikine would make an ideal foreign min- 
ister and if he comes into power, I will try and obtain 
from him an ambassadorship to Constantinople. 
I would like to work with him." 

One of Russia's greatest tragedies was the fact 
that Goremikine and Witte never united to form a 
party. They each criticized the other instead of 
uniting to criticize the government. 

When he was dismissed Goremikine might well 
have cried with Louis Quatorze "Apres moi le de- 
luge." 



CHAPTER XII 

THE DELUGE 

When Sturmer was appointed as his successor, the 
Court and its intimates made no ceremony or fuss 
about the new President of the Council. For the 
most part the Emperor absented himself from Pet- 
rograd, and spent most of his time at Army Head- 
quarters at the front. To all intents and purposes 
it was the Empress who reigned and in consequence 
Easputin became the dispenser of Russia's destiny. 

Sturmer was a man of his making. Rasputin 
treated him as dirt beneath his feet, and sent him his 
orders written on filthy scraps of paper. The ad- 
ministrator of the Russo-French Bank asked me one 
day, knowing of my friendly relations with Prince 
Obolensky, Commander of Petrograd, to intercede 
with him in favour of a Jewess, a relative of one of 
the employes of the Bank, whom Obolensky was going 
to expel from the city; but he refused my request 
categorically. 

**Hair will grow on my head before I will permit 
her to stay in Petrograd!" he exclaimed. (The 
Prince was entirely bald.) 

I told the unhappy Jewess of the non-success of 

282 



THE DELUGE 283 

my mission and advised her to try and see Rasputin. 
This she did. Rasputin interested himself in her 
case and gave her one of the famous slips of soiled 
paper to give Sturmer. I was shown the slip and 
took a copy of it. And this is the message that Ras- 
putin sent to the President of the Council ! 

''Dear Boris Vladimirovitch, " ( Sturmer 's Chris- 
tian name), ''I send you this woman. Do as she 
wishes. 

*'Your well-wisher, 

*' Gregory Rasputin." 

Sturmer hastened to send the necessary orders 
to Prince Obolensky and the Jewess was permitted to 
continue her residence in the capital. On the night 
of the gala dinner given for Messieurs Viviani and 
Thomas, who had come to Petrograd on the occasion 
of the 25th Anniversary of the Franco-Russian Alli- 
ance, I chanced to sit beside Prince Obolensky. I 
said to him : 

''Well, mon Prince — I do not see that your hair 
has grown!" 

The Prince did not seem to relish my little joke ! 

Sturmer thought of nothing except of keeping his 
own position. He had as his private secretary a 
person called Manuiloff — a man of very shady repu- 
tation, who shortly after, was condemned to a year 
in prison for blackmail. The secretarj^'s duties lay 



284 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

chiefly in keeping the minister informed of the sen- 
timents and opinions current in political circles. 
For this work Manuiloff drew 12,000 roubles per 
year, to say nothing of supplementary credits and 
the sums of money given to him. At the same time, 
— an excellent illustration of our regime in those 
days — he drew 6,000 roubles a year from the Assist- 
ant-Minister of the Interior to spy on Sturmer! 

Conditions were so bad that one might well im- 
agine oneself transported to Constantinople before 
the war, where the same sort of agents served at one 
and the same time the interests of the Grand Vizier, 
Kiamil Pasha, and of Enver Pasha, who was his 
most deadly enemy ! 

Sturmer was still Minister of the Interior and in 
that department every one did exactly as they 
pleased. The provincial governors had become mere 
satraps, justice existed on paper only. Solely oc- 
cupied with his own affairs, Sturmer did not even 
take the time or trouble to read the official reports ! 
When he finally vacated the ministry to become Min- 
ister of Foreign Affairs, still keeping the presidency 
of the Council, he was replaced by A. D. Protopopoff, 
whose activities surpassed those of Sturmer in arbi- 
trariness and glaring abuse of his office. 

Sturmer tried to get on good terms with the Duma, 
and as it had been dissolved by Goremikine, he at 
once reconvened it. Then he influenced the Em- 
peror to visit the Duma. Nicholas went and made 



THE DELUGE 285 

a speech. He assured the deputies of his well- 
wishes, and asked them to work for the country's 
good in accord with their sovereign in the difficult 
times through which they were then passing. This 
speech was enthusiastically received, but the deputies 
were disappointed in their hopes. The Emperor had 
spoken to them, it is true, in a very fatherly and 
kind way, but he had promised them nothing! The 
country wanted a responsible ministry that would 
be answerable to the Duma for its actions, or for at 
least a practical execution of the promises made in 
the Imperial Manifesto of 17th October, 1905 — but 
since, entirely forgotten. 

Nicholas would not even sacrifice the iniquitous 
Protopopoff, Minister of the Interior, for them, al- 
though he was universally hated in Russia. 

It was then only natural that after the Emperor 
left the Duma violent speeches against the Govern- 
ment and criticisms of the ministry were heard on 
every side. Two or three days later Milioukoff thun- 
dered from the tribune the truth of the evils under 
which unhappy Russia was groaning and suffering. 

Sturmer's cabinet was so wretchedly constituted 
that among all its members there was not one man 
who could answer Milioukoff's terrible denunciation 
and charges. Sturmer had recourse to the old 
method and proceeded forthwith to the dissolution of 
the Duma, but the deputies, when they returned to 
their constituencies, exposed the rottenness of the 



286 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

Government in great detail and discontent spread 
fast and far. 

In his relations with the Court, Sturmer was 
fawning and servile. As he had been Master of 
Ceremonies for many years, he knew it in all its 
devious ways. German by birth, his father a Prot- 
estant by religion, Sturmer posed as a convinced 
Orthodox. He visited all the churches regularly, 
and assiduously sought friends among the highest 
church dignitaries, as he knew that in so doing he 
would win the favours of the Empress, whom he in- 
fluenced by the most insidious flattery. 

It would be ridiculous to speak of Sturmer 's "pol- 
itics" or "policy," as he had neither one nor the 
other. He lived from day to day, executing the 
ever-vacillating wishes of the Czar. He signed any 
treaty put before him, one was as good as another 
to him and the same slipshod way of doing things 
as had distinguished his administration at the Min- 
istry of the Interior, was the rule in the Foreign 
Office. He was always ready either to bargain 
with the deputies, or attack them virulently. He 
had been accused by Milioukoff before the whole 
Duma of having been a thief while in power. Miliou- 
koff stated that even if he had not himself stolen, 
which could not be proved, it was certain his wife 
and sons were most seriously compromised. 

Milioukoff 's attack, however, was not the real rea- 
son of Sturmer 's fall, which was solely due to the ca- 



THE DELUGE 287 

price of the Czar, or rather, of the Empress. As he 
came to power, so he fell from it. Matters were so 
rotten at Court that an open attack on a Minister 
by the Duma only strengthened his position with the 
sovereigns! Usually Imperial favours were a sure 
reward for the hatred of the deputies! It was 
merely a coincidence that made Sturmer the excep- 
tion. 

The last President of the Ministerial Council un- 
der Nicholas II was Prince Golitzin. His nomina- 
tion was unexpected, not only by the public at large, 
but even by himself. He had been the Governor of 
two provinces and a Senator, and his last position 
had been that of a Member of the Imperial Council. 
He always voted with the party of the Extreme 
Eight. He was seventy-two years old when he at- 
tained the highest office. He was a gentleman in 
every sense of the term, loyal and honest, but totally 
ignorant of affairs of state. He was the President of 
two societies for the furtherance of the public wel- 
fare, one of which had as its patron the Empress 
Alexandra, and the other the Dowager Empress Ma- 
rie. Although the two Empresses did not get on at 
all well together, and were entirely unlike in charac- 
ter, Prince Golitzin managed to retain the favour of 
both. He came to the palace to make his report to 
the Empress one day, when he found himself unex- 
pectedly face to face with the Emperor, who promptly 
offered him Sturmer 's position as head of the Coun- 



288 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

cil ! The Prince confided to my sister Sementovska, 
that he had done all he could to keep this bitter cup 
from his lips! He did not feel strong enough to 
assume such a heavy responsibility and did not hide 
this from the Emperor, giving him a long list of 
candidates for the position, whom he thought to be 
far better fitted. But it was all in vain. The Em- 
peror insisted, and the Prince became President of 
the Council. 

In political circles every one was highly amused 
by his appointment and the Prince was not taken 
at all seriously. The Duma expected an uproar the 
first time Prince Golitzin appeared, especially as he 
relied on the infamous Protopopoff's assistance. 
But the Prince dared not attempt the experience! 
He kept away from the Duma, and in this way the 
deputies had no idea of the policy he intended to 
follow. 

The Golitzin Ministry lasted just one month. By 
order of the Emperor, who was then at the front, 
the Prime Minister signed a decree of dissolution. 
The Duma refused to be dissolved and the Revolu- 
tion broke out ! 

The unfortunate Prince left his official quarters 
and took refuge in my sister's house where he lived 
before he became Prime Minister. But as the other 
tenants very much feared the mobs, they begged my 
sister to make him leave. Prince Golitzin, a gentle- 
man always, inunediately telephoned to the President 



THE DELUGE 289 

of the Duma to come and arrest him. He was at once 
incarcerated in the fortress of St. Peter and St. 
Paul, but was soon freed. Of all the Czar's minis- 
ters, he was perhaps one who suffered most from 
his master's capricious whims. 

Meanwhile Protopopoff, the Minister of the In- 
terior, who played such a disastrous part during 
the last days of the monarchy in Eussia, flitted 
on and off the stage. Just before the curtain de- 
scended he became one of the principal actors in the 
drama. 

In all countries the Minister of the Interior oc- 
cupies a very important position. In Russia the 
holder of this portfolio has always been almost om- 
nipotent ! The whole administration of the internal 
affairs of the vast Empire was absolutely in his 
hands. He appointed the governors of provinces, 
and controlled the activities of the Zemstvos. He 
regulated all questions except those of religion. By 
custom, the Minister of the Interior was a high dig- 
nitary, having the full confidence of the Sovereign, 
and being ''his man," in every way. During the 
reign of Nicholas II, the Ministry of the Interior 
especially reflected the vacillating character of the 
ruler. And it was in this important branch of the 
government that ministers were most frequently 
changed, so much so that during the last months 
of the monarchy, the Ministry of the Interior was 
nothing but a continuous moving picture I The Em- 



290 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

peror called for some one, it did not matter whom, 
and offered him the post of Minister of the Interior. 
The gentleman so '' honoured" accepted, and went 
home, highly delighted, to dilate on his good for- 
tune to his family ! This would happen in the morn- 
ing; and the evening of the same day the Czar 
changed his mind, another man was appointed, and 
the appointee of the morning had not even had time 
to make the acquaintance of his colleagues. 

The innumerable Ministers of the Interior kept 
their positions not by their policies or accomplish- 
ments, but solely by Imperial favour! They all 
tried to secure such favour by all sorts of means, 
any means sufficed, as long as they were successful. 
Some, Sturmer, for instance, by making a round of 
all the churches ; others, like Maklakoff, in imitating 
the *4eap of the amorous pantheress" which made 
the Empress and the Imperial children laugh, and a 
third class like Protopopoff, by flattering the Em- 
press, and doing things they claimed were spiritual- 
istic. And all by first assuring themselves of being 
In the very good graces of Easputin. 

Of all the Ministers of the Interior that Nicholas 
II had, Protopopoff contributed the most to the fall 
of the Monarchy. He was a gentleman from the 
Province of Simbirsk, on the Volga. Previously he 
had been an officer, but left the army when he was 
still young. He was very rich, an extensive land- 
owner, and was at the head of several industrial 



THE DELUGE 291 

enterprises. He had worked in several of the Zems- 
two bureaux and had been elected chief of the nobil- 
ity in his home province. He thus represented his 
province in the third and fourth Dumas, belonging 
to the Octobrist Party. Finally he was Vice-Presi- 
dent of the Duma. His speeches were usually of a 
pronouncedly liberal character. An excellent ora- 
tor, and most insinuating in his manner, he made 
himself very popular with the deputies, especially 
by his violent attacks on the Government. 

When a delegation from the Duma visited the 
capitals of our Allies, Protopopoff was of the party. 
As he spoke English, French and Italian fluently, 
he spoke for the whole delegation. He produced an 
exceedingly good impression in Europe, and was 
very popular everywhere. On his return to Russia 
he passed through Stockholm with Count Olsouiev, 
Member of the Imperial Council, who had also been 
a member of the deputation. In the Swedish cap- 
ital the latter discovered a Russian journalist, Ko- 
lischko by name, who lived there as he would not 
leave his mistress, who was a German whom the Rus- 
sian Government had expelled. Naturally enough 
Germany and its affairs were among the topics of 
conversation, and Count Olsouiev expressed a desire 
to see a real German in order to learn something of 
German sentiments. Kolischko offered his assist- 
ance, and at a luncheon at his house introduced a 
man by the name of Warburg to the Count. War- 



292 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

burg was a German financier, a friend of Herr Ballin, 
and in consequence in touch with the ideas of Em- 
peror William. 

At the last moment Protopopoff expressed a wish 
to be present at this luncheon, and so was asked. 
Although the conversation did not have any great 
political significance, Protopopoff was fatuous 
enough to mention it to a reporter, adding that it 
was he, and not Olsouiev, who had arranged for the 
meeting with Warburg. 

The matter got abroad, and when Protopopoff 
reached Petrograd, he found that his position in the 
Duma was seriously compromised, even in the ranks 
of his own Party. The President of the Duma, 
M. W. Rodzianko, wrote him a letter in which he 
asked, in the name of the Duma, to present formal 
explanations regarding the Stockholm incident. In 
order to excuse himself, Protopopoff threw all the 
blame on Olsouiev ; but the latter succeeded in clear- 
ing himself and proved conclusively that Protopopoff 
was a liar. 

He had formerly been the Liberal candidate for 
the post of Minister of Commerce, but after this 
incident there was no doubt that not only would he 
lose his position as Vice-President of the Duma, but 
even that of being a deputy ! 

Protopopoff was more fortunate at Court. 
Wanting to know the details of the visit of the dele- 
gation to the Allied capitals, the Emperor received 



THE DELUGE 293 

him in the Empress' presence. Protopopoff made 
a very good impression. 

The Empress asked him if King George resembled 
the Emperor as much as it was commonly reported. 
Protopopoff answered: 

"Only as a bad copy resembles a superb original." 

This reply pleased the Emperor and Empress im- 
mensely. 

Seeing that he was done for as far as the Duma 
was concerned, Protopopoff decided to make himself 
popular at Court. He listened to Easputin and 
made himself most agreeable, and employed the 
same tactics with the Archbishop of Petrograd. As 
he had prepared the ground carefully at the Palace, 
he was appointed Minister of the Interior. 

At first he played up to the Liberals. He argued 
to himself that the title of ''Minister of the In- 
terior, and Deputy of the Duma," would make him 
popular with the masses, and that it might win him 
once again the support of the Duma. But his cal- 
culations were wrong! His own Party voted for 
his exclusion! 

While Protopopoff was still Vice-President of the 
Duma, he had founded a newspaper. When he was 
appointed Minister of the Interior he declared he 
would have nothing more to do with this publica- 
tion, but he nevertheless relied on it for support, and 
as a matter of fact, the editor came to his study every 
morning in secret to receive his orders. But the 



294 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

truth leaked out and in consequence the paper en- 
tirely lost its influence and was unable to popularize 
the Minister. 

The whole of Russia was hostile towards him and 
the press clamoured unanimously for his resigna- 
tion. He did not dare go to the Duma, being sure 
of provoking a scandal were he to do so. He sought 
refuge at Court, and found it. The Empress, in- 
fluenced by Rasputin, was sure of his loyalty and 
devotion, and he became one of her most intimate 
friends, spending whole evenings with her, the fa- 
mous Madame Wiroubova and Rasputin. During 
these evenings religion was often a subject of con- 
versation and the necessity of saving the masses 
from the pernicious influence of the Liberals ! Pro- 
topopoff was enthusiastic on the latter point, even 
if he was bored by the former. 

When Rasputin was assassinated, public opinion 
generally took it for granted that Protopopoff's 
popularity at Tsarskoe Seloe would come to an end, 
but nothing happened. Protopopoff was stronger 
than ever. He persuaded the Empress, who was 
then turning to spiritualism, that the spirit of Ras- 
putin had entered himself, and he spoke to her in 
the language of the moujiks (peasants), clipping his 
words and sentences in imitation of Rasputin's pe- 
culiar way of speaking. 

When the Emperor expressed himself as much an- 
noyed with the attitude of the Duma, Protopopoff 



THE DELUGE 295 

calmed him, saying that the Duma was not to be 
feared. Finally he advised the Emperor to decree 
its dissolution and the Duma was thus eliminated. 

Protopopoff wanted to crush the revolutionary 
movement, of which he was fully aware, and advised 
the Emperor to use Dournovo's method. Dournovo 
had crushed the previous revolution in Moscow by 
the simple method of massacring the people ! Pro- 
topopoff therefore increased the number of police in 
Petrograd by adding large forces made up of non- 
commissioned officers of the army, on whom he could 
rely. By this means the force of police in the capital 
reached the total of 18,000 men. He also ordered 
all the cross streets to be guarded with machine guns 
and the roofs of all the higher buildings to be simi- 
larly equipped and he explained his orders by calling 
attention to the possibility of a German air-raid on 
the capital. His idea was to force the revolution 
into the open, provoke the working classes and then 
mow them down. To achieve this object, he ordered, 
on the 23rd of February, 1917, that no bread should 
be sold in those parts of the city inhabited by the 
workmen and the poor. On the 24th of February 
there were mass meetings of the starving crowds 
who howled for bread. These meetings were easily 
dispersed by the police ; but, on the 25th, the move- 
ment suddenly became revolutionary. The garri- 
sons of Petrograd were in collusion with the people 
and there followed a massacre of the police. About 



296 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

5,000 people were killed and Protopopoff's *'army" 
fled, or was arrested by the revolting troops. The 
revolution had won the day in Petrograd ! 

Protopopoff fled and took refuge in a village near 
the capital, but fearing to be recognized and killed, 
four days later he presented himself to the Duma. 
Meeting Kerensky there he said to him : 

* * Excellency, have pity on me ! " 

To which Kerensky replied : 

**In the first place, I am not 'Excellency'! As to 
your crimes against the nation, the people will judge 
them. ' ' 

He was arrested and incarcerated in the fortress 
of St. Peter and St. Paul. He narrowly escaped be- 
ing torn to pieces by the mobs while he was being 
taken there. 

Goremikine and Sturmer, the one by his inaction, 
the other by his actions, played their parts in the 
last scene of the drama, but it was Protopopoff who 
rung the curtain down. 

Justice in the country was administered in exactly 
the same way as the government. There was noth- 
ing left at all of the liberal institutions and reforms 
of Alexander II. The tribunals had lost their inde- 
pendence and were docile tools in the hands of the 
Government. All cases in which members of the 
Government, or of the Court were concerned, were 
promptly quashed. Justice became a by-word. Pol- 



THE DELUGE 297 

itics pure and simple controlled all the law courts 
and their decisions. 

Monsieur Tcheglowitoff, the Minister of Justice, 
was without faith or creed. He had been my com- 
rade in school days, and at school he was called 
**John Cain." After his graduation he posed as a 
Liberal, and Milioukoff, in 1905, wished to appoint 
him Minister of Justice in a Constitutional Cabinet. 

At that time seeing that the Liberal cause was lost, 
Tcheglowitoff became a pillar of the reactionary 
movement. A few months prior to the final out- 
break, when he found himself attacked on all sides, 
he resigned as Minister of Justice, but the Emperor 
appointed him President of the Council of State — 
the highest official position in Eussia. 

As President he concentrated all his attention on 
preventing any and all of the Liberal members of 
the Council from speaking. 

His name was as much execrated by the masses as 
was that of Protopopoff and when he was arrested 
after the Revolution by the Provisional Government, 
the crowds, even to the children, spat on him as he 
was taken through the streets. He was taken to 
the fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul and accused of 
high treason against the people of Eussia. 

The Eussian clergy have ever played a most im- 
portant part in the history of the nation. The 
masses are extremely religious and in consequence 



298 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

the priests have very great influence over them. 
The church was always regarded with reverence and 
was a power every sovereign relied upon for sup- 
port. The assistance of the clergy was therefore 
cultivated. In the last years of the monarchy 
princes of the church were appointed from among 
those on whom the Court could rely, but as all these 
appointments were made through the influence of 
Rasputin, the appointees were naturally men of evil 
reputation, without any morality. Morality was re- 
placed by a fawning servility. A monk who had 
been a friend of Rasputin 's at Tobolsk, wholly ignor- 
ant and scarcely able to write his own name — was 
made an Archbishop, and Pitirim, well known for his 
depraved habits, was placed at the head of the Pet- 
rograd clergy as ''The Metropolitan." The assist- 
ance of such characters was really of no earthly use 
to the Court, as the people, knowing their reputations 
and habits would have nothing to do with them. As 
a result the church lost its influence. In the end 
Pitirim lost his position, became again a monk, and 
was imprisoned in a monastery situated in the far 
north of Russia. 

In the army discontent with the regime of Nicholas 
II had become general. At the beginning of the war 
the enthusiasm of the troops was undoubted. The 
first military reverses in East Prussia in no way 
dispirited the army. They were fully offset by Gen- 
eral Brusiloff's victories in Galicia, which were 



THE DELUGE 299 

crowned by the taking of Lemberg, and Przemysl, 
the great Austrian fortress. Even when the Army 
suffered badly for want of munitions its morale kept 
up to a fine standard. Having no more cartridges, 
the men fought with stones and the butts of their 
rifles. But as time went by, and no munitions were 
supplied the Army was forced to a permanent re- 
treat. Even while Russian fortresses were falling 
one by one, and the Germans were overrunning more 
and more territory, the Army still had confidence in 
the future. 

It was only when it learned of the treachery of 
the Minister of War — General Soukhomlinoff, and of 
his imprisonment, that discontent grew apace in all 
ranks. The ofiQcers especially did not attempt to 
hide their disgust. In the casinos and restaurants 
there was severe criticism on all sides against the 
Government. The Emperor himself was not spared, 
and no blame was too great for the Empress because 
the military saw in her the chief cause of its dis- 
asters. The Imperial Guard was no exception to 
this bitter sentiment. I talked very often with offi- 
cers of the First Regiments of the Guard, and they 
frankly told me that if the Emperor did not change 
his policy soon, if he did not replace the inefficient 
and traitorous ministers by a cabinet which would 
be responsible to the Duma, he would have to be de- 
throned and a regency instituted. These sugges- 
tions and many similar ones, were known to the 



300 RECOIiLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

men of the rank and file, and the Emperor gradually 
lost not only their respect, but such little popularity 
as he had had. 

But in the ranks the non-success of our armies was 
credited not only to the Emperor, but to the higher 
Eussian command. Generals were accused of indo- 
lence and inefficiency, or servility to the Emperor, 
and the officers were accused of being the generals' 
accomplices. This sentiment explains the soldiers' 
fury against the generals and officers during the 
Eevolution, and why so many of them were mas- 
sacred. 

In the last months before the revolution, the lack 
of food supplies and of warm clothing fanned the 
flames. This was attributed and not without rea- 
son, to the corruption of the departments which were 
supposed to supply the army with its requirements. 
Desertion became rife, despite the iron discipline 
which still existed in the ranks. 

Thus from the political, judicial, clerical and mili- 
tary point of view things were going from bad to 
worse. Meanwhile society was divided into two 
camps. In the one camp no one cared anything 
about either the army or the war. They thought 
only of enriching themselves and to them the slack- 
ness of the administration was of great assistance. 
The army contractors filled their pockets. Dealings 
on the stock market attained enormous and un- 
precedented figures, yet the nation was starving to 



THE DELUGE 301 

death and the army lacked everything. A third of 
European Russia was held by the enemy, and still 
all values on the stock exchange rose steadily, thanks 
to the speculation that went on in high financial cir- 
cles. Men who were penniless one day were mil- 
lionaires the next! Bakery shops were repeatedly 
attacked by the hungry masses, whose long bread 
lines stretched for hundreds of yards in many parts 
of the city. And while this state of things existed 
the jewellers' establishments were worked harder 
than they ever had been before. One of these, the 
famous Faberge, told me that his profits had trebled. 
He added that the buyers were all unknown to him, 
and they cared nothing for the quality of the things 
they bought, insisting only on high prices. The 
theatres and cafe concerts were always crowded. 
Four and five hundred roubles were paid for a box 
at Red Cross entertainments. Wine was officially 
forbidden, but this did not prevent champagne from 
flowing in streams in private houses and in private 
dining-rooms, despite the fact that its price was 
ninety roubles per bottle. 

In this world of people, gone absolutely pleasure 
mad, and literally drunk with money, Rasputin was 
everywhere, in the character of Principal Devil, for 
it was he who made it possible for these floods of 
money to get into the pockets of the vulturous crowds 
of pleasure-seeking leeches. The dangers of the sit- 
uation were well known. The majority well knew 



302 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

they were dancing on the crumbling edges of a vol- 
cano; but so much the more haste was made to 
bleed suffering, starving, agonizing Russia to a still 
greater degree, and with the results enjoy life the 
more! 

And it was on this class of people the ministers 
relied, and it was auaojig them that the Government 
looked for salvation! 

In the other camp of society, which was the more 
numerous, the certainty of the great catastrophe's 
approach was well known, and also that the crisis 
could not be long delayed. 

The Emperor was now openly criticized on street 
corners, and the Empress loudly cursed. I was with 
the Assistant Minister of Justice in his study one 
day, who up to that time had been looked upon as a 
reactionary. There were present two senators, one 
of whom had been Chief of the Police. Their con- 
versation was such that had I closed my eyes I 
should have believed myself to be in the presence 
of three convinced, out-and-out Revolutionaries! 

Among the legal profession sentiment was even 
more bitter. Kerensky, who was a lawyer, hurried 
to the President of the Lawyers ' Club one day very 
pale, and with tears in his eyes, asked him if some 
violent action had not better be taken in order to 
save the people and the army! 

The members of the Duma met every day in party 
caucus. They were absolutely convinced that the 



THE DELUGE 303 

state of things could not last any longer. But while 
the better thinking element of society limited it- 
self to criticism, and tried to deliberate as to what 
was best to be done, the workmen were organizing. 
The intellectuals lost ground in their endless delib- 
erations and the workmen became complete masters 
of the situation. 

The press played only a very small part in the 
crisis. The Liberals had been muzzled. Those sup- 
porting the party of the Eight, subsidized by the 
Government, had no readers, and in consequence no 
sales. Furthermore Russia had no great journal- 
ists at the time. The Katkoffs, Aksakoffs, and the 
Souvorines had vanished and no one to fill their 
illustrious places could be found. 

The Novoie Vremya was run by the sons of the 
great Souvorine. One of them, of no use whatso- 
ever, spent his time with women. The other, a man 
of talent, took to drink. Lacking in funds, the 
Souvorines sold a large part of their shares which 
passed into the hands of a Jewish banker, Rubin- 
stein by name. He had made a very large fortune, 
was an intimate of Rasputin's and thus became 
quasi-editor-in-chief of the Novoie Vremya! 

The other papers were colourless and weak, mth 
the exception of the Retch, the organ of Milioukoff. 
But the military censorship, which had become a 
purely political affair, dependent on the desires of 
the Minister of the Interior, heavily blue-pencilled all 



304 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

articles intended for publication by the papers. 
Usually a blank space met the readers' eyes when 
they looked for an editorial. In revenge the papers 
made much of the complaints of the various parties, 
despite the efforts of the police, and this method of 
internal warfare spread to the people, and thence to 
the trenches, increasing the general distrust and dis- 
content. 

The President of the Duma, Rodzianko, on two 
occasions had tried to show the Emperor the dan- 
gers which menaced the Nation, but his efforts were 
all in vain. Nicholas II, guided by Protopopoff, 
plunged on to the doom which grimly awaited him. 

The peasants who make up eighty-five per cent, 
of the population of Eussia thought differently from 
the workmen in the cities. Their living had never 
been so good as during the war ! Three factors com- 
bined to enrich the country people : 

(1) Each family having a soldier in the ranks 
received a certain sum of money each month. 

(2) Produce was sold at very high prices, and 

(3) As alcohol was forbidden, the earnings of the 
men of the family stayed in the family. 

From these things it is true that among the peas- 
ants peace and content resulted. But also immor- 
ality rapidly increased. Many women thought of 
nothing but money, and almost always the husband 
being away, his place was taken by a prisoner of 
war. This was often the case even in Society ! 



THE DELUGE 305 

The peasant, however, finally made common cause 
with the revolution, because always the aspirations 
of the country people were for an increase in their 
holdings of land. The revolutionaries had incul- 
cated in the peasant mind that these aspirations 
could only be satisfied hy a Revolution, and grad- 
ually the creed of the peasants became: Land and 
Liberty. 

When the Revolution broke out the peasants 
thought that their time had come. They seized the 
landlords' properties without waiting for any legal 
arrangement to be made by the Revolutionary Gov- 
ernment! Uneducated and savage, the peasants 
burned and destroyed secular property, tearing 
down libraries and ruining treasures which had been 
gathered little by little by their owners. 

This movement, and these actions, however, had 
nothing to do with socialistic theories. The peas- 
ant, who had become a landed proprietor since the 
days of Stolypin, does not rally to a doctrine which 
denies the rights of property! Having received 
what they demanded, an increase of their territorial 
holdings, the Russian peasants will necessarily again 
become a conservative element. Already in the first 
months of the revolution the peasant was very far 
from sharing the advanced ideas of the workmen 
in the cities. 

The conditions and factors prevailing in Russia 
in the third year of the Great War, which were the 



306 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 

direct cause of the downfall of the Monarchy, can 
be thus summarized : 

An unpopular Emperor, lacking in willpower. 

An Empress who was cordially detested. 

The Grand Dukes and the Court suspected. 

A discontented and deceived Army and Navy, 
which had lost all faith in their Generals, Admirals 
and Officers. 

Venal and incapable Ministers. 

Satraps in the position of Provincial Governors. 

Administrative abuses which increased daily. 

Justice all over the land reduced to a farce. 

An unconsidered and despised Clergy. 

A Society corrupt and rotten to the core. 

The Duma and its Leaders lacking in courage and 
initiative. 

The workmen won over by the Socialists. 

The peasants having lost all idea of morality, pil- 
laging and destroying property. 

Add to these the constant military disasters and 
the large part of Eussia in the hands of the enemy 
and you have an exact picture of unhappy Russia 
prior to the Revolution of February 25th, 1917. 

Such was the drama and such were the principal 
actors in it. 

The curtain is down ! the house silent and deserted ! 



APPENDIX I 

QUEEN MAEIE OF EOUMANIA 

"I WILL sooner abdicate than recognize a peace 
shameful to my country," cried the Queen of Eou- 
mania, on learning the terrible peace conditions dic- 
tated by the Emperor William and his partner Aus- 
tria, and imposed on the poor little Danubian King- 
dom, crushed by superior force after an heroic re- 
sistance. 

The Sovereign reveals herself in her cry of in- 
dignation, straight from the heart. In these mo- 
ments of anguish she shows herself as she is — noble 
and proud, worthy of her people, and worthy niece 
of two great sovereigns, Edward VII of England 
and Alexander III of Russia. 

It will be remembered that Queen Marie is the 
daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh, brother of Ed- 
ward VII, and of the Grand Duchess Marie of Rus- 
sia, only sister of the Emperor Alexander III. 

"I belong to a truly international family," said 
the Queen to me one day, referring to the fact that 
her father was English, her mother Russian, and of 
her sisters, one was married to a Russian, the Grand 
Duke Cyril, the second to a German, the Prince of 

307 



308 APPENDICES 

Hohenlohe Lauenburg, and the third to a prince of 
Spain. 

My first opportunity of getting to know the Qneen 
of Eoumania was when she was a princess of Eng- 
land, towards the end of the year 1892 in Munich. 
I was Second Secretary of the Russian Legation in 
that city. The Countess Osten-Sacken, the wife of 
my chief, was an intimate friend of the Grand 
Duchess Marie, mother of the future Queen of Eou- 
mania. This lady confided to her all the difficulties 
she had with regard to the approaching marriage of 
her daughter. 

'* Imagine," she said, ''Marie has got two suitors 
at the same time, both desperately in love with her, 
the Grand Duke George of Eussia and Prince Ferdi- 
nand of Eoumania, the former is here, and Ferdi- 
nand is expected in a few days. I don't know what 
to do. It seems to me that my daughter prefers the 
Roumanian, but it hurts her very much to disappoint 
the Grand Duke. She is so kind-hearted ! " 

However, the Princess made light of her mother's 
difficulties and decided matters for herself. In Jan- 
uary, 1893, she married the heir to the throne of 
Eoumania. 

Endowed with exceptional beauty, only equalled 
by the goodness of her heart, she became at once 
the idol of her people. Her personality captivated 
every one. The highest and lowest were equally 
amenable to her great charm. Her uncle, King 



APPENDICES 309 

Charles of Koumania, compared her to a ray of sun- 
light, notwithstanding his pronounced sympathies 
for Germany which were so opposed to those of his 
niece. 

In June, 1914, I again met the Princess Marie. 
She was still the Princess and was present at the 
meeting between King Charles of Roumania and the 
Czar, at Constanza. Wherever she appeared, driv- 
ing, riding or walking, beautiful as the day, gay, 
smiling and waving her handkerchief in response to 
the cheers of the people, the enthusiasm of the 
crowd for their princess was immense. 

The Princess little dreamt of the terrible trials 
which awaited her in the ensuing three years. 

I was once more in Roumania, in Bucharest, in the 
summer of 1916, about two months before the decla- 
ration of war by Roumania, The country was then 
divided into three political parties. The first, led 
by Carp, former minister of King Charles, favoured 
an alliance with the Central Powers. This party 
was supported chiefly by conservatives. Although 
some of these supported Mr. Marghiloman, who was 
in favour of neutrality. The second party had for 
its leaders Philippesco, Take lonescu and Michel 
Cantacuzene, who insisted on an inmiediate entry into 
the war on the side of the Allies. The third party 
and the most powerful had for its chief, M. Bratiano, 
who was then President of the Council. He led a 
double game, emphasizing his sympathy for the Al- 



310 APPENDICES 

lies and at the same time concluding a commercial 
treaty with Germany and Austria-Hungary. 

As to the King, he hesitated. His original, all his 
youthful sympathies, drew him towards Germany, 
but he decided to remain a really constitutional mon- 
arch to the end. He made up his mind only to follow 
the wishes of the majority of his people. Looking 
back on all that I saw, it seemed to me that Ferdi- 
nand saw clearly how he would have to drink the 
cup with its dregs one day, but all that he wished 
was to postpone the evil hour as long as possible. 
This will explain the entire and unwavering support 
he gave to Bratiano's policy. 

But from the beginning of the crisis, Queen Marie 
did not hide her sympathies. At one moment dur- 
ing this my last stay in Bucharest, when the con- 
clusion of the commercial treaty with the Central 
Powers seemed almost certain, old Philippesco said 
to me, ''Luckily we have our dear Queen with us 
and with such a faithful ally I have no fear for the 
future. ' ' 

One day the Princess Cantacuzene, wife of one of 
the warmest partisans of the Allies, and intimate 
friend of Queen Marie, invited my wife and myself 
to pass the evening with her and the Queen. Un- 
fortunately I was absent, called away to Eeni on the 
Danube by Admiral Vesselkine, commander of our 
flotilla, and my wife alone was able to take advan- 
tage of the Princess's amiable invitation. 



APPENDICES 311 

The Queen was accompanied by her daughter, the 
Princess Elizabeth. A large part of the evening was 
devoted by the Sovereign to herself reading aloud a 
small book of hers entitled, ' ' The Heart of the Rou- 
manian Peasant." This little work was written in 
English, this and the Roumanian language being pre- 
ferred by the Queen. Her very soul is revealed by 
this little essay. It illustrates her passionate love 
for her people and her pride in being their Queen. 
Happy in her great and rightly deserved popularity, 
she boasts how on frequent occasions she has had to 
accept the responsibility of figuring as godmother to 
so many children of humble peasants. She describes 
their cottages and waxes enthusiastic over the sterl- 
ing qualities of the parents of the newly born. 

In the short preface, the Queen says, ^ ' The object 
of this little work is to make Roumania as much ad- 
mired by my readers as she is loved by me." Al- 
ways and everywhere her strongest feeling is a real 
devotion to the country of her adoption. 

Naturally immediately on my return to Bucharest, 
I deemed it my privilege to ask for an audience, 
which a few days later was accorded me. Rou- 
mania had then declared war. When the Queen 
received my wife and myself in her palace at Bu- 
charest, it was already completely transformed into 
a hospital. Her Majesty, beautiful and charming as 
ever, wore the dress of the hospital nurse. After 
the usual exchange of greetings and courtesies, the 



312 APPENDICES 

Sovereign passed on to the questions of the mo- 
ment, speaking directly of the war and the Council 
of Ministers which under the presidency of the King 
had decided on its declaration. 

**I know what anxious moments the King must 
have passed," she said to me. *' And I have a right 
to be proud of his decision." Her Majesty added, 
''I assure you that I have no hatred for the Ger- 
mans, my mother and my sister are in Germany, 
but I felt that the fate of my country depended on 
an alliance with the enemies of Germany and Aus- 
tria. The Germans evidently know the part I have 
played for they do everything possible to eliminate 
me. Their aeroplanes pursue me night after night, 
and I am obliged continually to change my abode. 
But all this leaves me perfectly calm and every day 
I say to myself, 'What a blessing to be Queen at 
such a moment!' " 

She did not seem to have any doubts about final 
success, although she fully recognized the difficul- 
ties the Roumanians would have to overcome. 
*'They are very strong," she said again and again, 
in speaking of the Central Powers. 

In bidding her adieu, I asked for a copy of the 
little book which she had read at the soiree of Coun- 
tess Cantacuzene. The Queen graciously acceded to 
my request and the following day, I received the lit- 
tle volume accompanied by her portrait, and signed 



APPENDICES 313 

by her. I remained another week in Bucharest, 
which by then had become a real hell. 

The Germans and the Bulgarians commenced a 
bombardment of the poor ''Balkan Paris" the day 
after the declaration of war. It was a Sunday. 
The streets were full of people enjoying the lovely 
weather, when the first hostile aeroplane appeared. 
The public thought it was manoeuvres of the Eou- 
manian aviators. Half an hour later the ambu- 
lances of the Red Cross destroyed these illusions. 
The Huns and their Allies chose for their mark the 
most frequented squares and places. Bucharest was 
more tried and more punished than almost any other 
town that suffered an aerial bombardment. In this 
first hour, there were three hundred and seventy- 
five dead and wounded, the great majority being 
women and children. Whole districts of the city, 
only a few weeks ago devoted to pleasure, were com- 
pletely destroyed. I saw with my own eyes one 
poor mother quite out of her mind. Her four chil- 
dren had been crushed to death ! But the Germans 
and the Bulgarians did not confine themselves to 
this mode of destruction. In addition they dropped 
bombs containing packages of poisoned candies. 
The chemist (Professor Cantacouzene) who made an 
analysis, told me that these bon-bons were filled with 
diphtheria microbes and typhus germs. Placards 
were immediately posted in the streets warning the 



314 APPENDICES 

people of this unsuspected danger. Unfortunately, 
it was too late. Numbers of children were already 
victims of an enemy devoid of human sentiment. 

Imagine what terrible moments the poor Queen 
must have passed. How she must have suffered, 
she, so full of motherly tenderness. But she contin- 
ued bravely to do her duty as sovereign. Later at 
Jassy she shared all the privations endured by the 
remnants of the army and the crowds of fugitives. 
She refused the offer of the Czar, who put at her 
disposal a palace at Odessa or one at Kiev. "I will 
not abandon my people in distress," invariably was 
her answer. 

She struggled to the end, encouraging the King 
to resist and continuing her work of benevolence. 
When at last the King, giving way to the advice of 
his Ministers, declared himself ready to sign a treaty 
of peace, the Queen revolted against his decision. 
''Rather abdicate," she cried with her British pride. 
This cry of indignation has immortalized her. 

The name of Queen Marie of E-oumania will figure 
in all history as that of a real Queen and Patriot. 



APPENDIX II 

THE RESULT OF EOUMANIa's PARTICIPATIONS IN THE 
GREAT WAR 

Bucharest, Sept. 15tli, 1916. 
Confidential report of E. de Schelking, Correspond- 
ent of Journal de La Bourse of Petrograd, and 
formerly Secretary of the Russian Embassy in 
Berlin. Transmitted to Gen. Alexiev and Bru- 
siloff and submitted to the Czar, Nicholas II. 

Upon my departure irom Roumania after a sojourn 
of three months, I consider it necessary to sum up 
my impressions. 

There are two main considerations which I would 
bring to your notice : 

(1) What was the practical value to Russia and 
the Allies of Roumania 's participation in the war? 

(2) Did that value come up to the expectations of 
Russia considering the price paid for the same? 

Unhappily on examining the situation in detail I 
am forced to the conclusion that Roumania 's help 
was not of real advantage to Russia, and that the 
price paid for the same was too high. 

Our political understanding with Roumania ar- 
ranged forsan adjustment of boundaries which would 

315 



316 APPENDICES 

have doubled her territory. Besides having prom- 
ised her the acquisition of Transylvania, which is in- 
habited by a very large number of Roumanians, we 
promised Roumania Bukowina, including the cap- 
ital, Czernowitz, which was twice drenched with 
Russian blood during the war, and also the Banat, 
including Torondal, the population of which was ex- 
clusively Serbian. Thus in our desire to secure 
Roumania 's co-operation, we sacrificed our blood 
brothers, the heroic Serbians. 

At the same time, we gave rise to new complica- 
tions between two Balkan states, Roumania and 
Serbia, because the Serbians could never be satis- 
fied with a situation which placed Serbia under 
the menace of Roumanian guns at Torondal, instead 
of those of Austria at Semlin. Such an understand- 
ing was contrary, in my opinion, to the interests of 
Roumania herself, because the vital interests of Rou- 
mania were, under any circumstances, linked with 
those of Serbia, if only it were to give her an outlet 
to the Adriatic by a complete understanding with 
Serbia. I know positively that the arrangements for 
the cession of Torondal created a most painful im- 
pression in the political circles of Serbia. In her 
intense desire to help the Allies, Serbia not only 
showed herself willing to sacrifice part of Dalmatia 
to Italy, but had also consented to give up a portion 
of Macedonia to Bulgaria. This last arrangement 
as we know, was part of a secret treaty made with 



APPENDICES 317 

Britain, France, Eussia and Italy, to which N. Pas- 
chitch, the Serbian Premier, gave a broken-hearted 
consent under Kussian pressure. The Serbian gov- 
ernment realized to the full the immense value of 
Italy's participation in the war and the continued 
neutrality of Bulgaria, if these could be secured by 
such sacrifices. 

So far as Roumania is concerned Serbian states- 
men knew perfectly well the military position of 
Roumania and realized that the cession of the Banat 
and the entire Roumanian demands were not in ac- 
cordance with the practical interests of the Allies. 
In my opinion our great amiability towards Rou- 
mania was entirely due to the fact that all the diplo- 
matic representatives of the Allies in Roumania, 
except Italy, were not au courant with the true situa- 
tion. They had at heart nothing but the advance- 
ment of their personal careers and they blindly fol- 
lowed the lead of M. Bratiano, the premier of Rou- 
mania. Their sole object was the participation of 
Roumania in the war, regardless of consequences. 

The former French minister, M. Blondel, knew 
perfectly well that his diplomatic days were num- 
bered, but he hoped that he would retain his posi- 
tion if he were able to bring about the participation 
of Roumania in the war. The Russian representa- 
tive, Chamberlain Poklewsky-Kosiell, found himself 
in the same position. For over a year his recall had 
been decided upon and he had only retained his post 



318 APPENDICES 

through the direct support of M. S. D. Sazonoff, the 
Eussian foreign minister. He realized that his feet 
were not on firm ground and that if he were to pre- 
serve his position he must accomplish something 
spectacular. The British minister. Sir F. Barclay, 
was not taken very seriously in Bucharest. He was 
very intimate with Poklewsky-Kosiell in Persia, and 
in Roumania he was inclined always to follow the 
Russian's lead. 

These three diplomats naturally were used by 
Bratiano. Whatever concerned the prime minister 's 
official position and also that of the Ministry of War 
which he occupied, was not deemed a matter of con- 
cern to others. Bratiano would not brook any criti- 
cism or contradiction or even suggestions from out- 
side sources. He had named as Vice-Minister of 
War his nephew, General Iliesco, whose incapacity 
in all that concerned military affairs was notorious. 
Iliesco, to flatter the vanity of Bratiano, assured the 
Prime Minister that the forces at the disposal of 
Roumania were very much bigger than they were in 
reality. In his desire to be master of the situation 
in Roumania, Bratiano worked to crush all opposi- 
tion and to this end inveigled the Allies' diplomats 
into supporting him. Our real friends, for example. 
Messieurs Philippesco, Take lonescu and Michel 
Cantacuzene, found themselves paralysed by the 
Russian understanding with Roumania in 1914. For 



APPENDICES 319 

by that understanding we had made very serious 
concessions to Roumania, not for her participation 
in the war, but only for her neutrality. The amour 
propre of the Roumanian deputies had been flattered 
by this understanding and the opposition lost ground, 
and Bratiano was consequently completely master 
of the situation. 

But if the political understanding between Rou- 
mania and the Allies was bad, the military arrange- 
ments were even worse. It is surely clear that the 
principal front not only for Roumania but especially 
for Russia was the southern or Bulgarian front. 
During the two years of her neutrality the Rou- 
manian people were principally occupied with mak- 
ing money. They had been able to sell all their 
produce to Germany, Bulgaria, Austria and Turkey. 
The result was that there was no beef to be ob- 
tained in Roumania even before the war started. 
In July, 1916, there were already three beefless days 
a week and in September there were four, and it is 
certain that in a short time there will be no more 
beef in the country. There is also no coal. Hotels 
and other public places in all the larger cities could 
get no coal in September. It must be presumed that 
Bratiano allowed the export of all these products in 
exchange for war materials from Germany and Aus- 
tria. At least in making a new commercial treaty 
with Germany and Austria and being asked by the 



320 APPENDICES 

Allies the reason for such a treaty he made this his 
excuse and explanation. 

Marghiloman and Philippesco were two Rou- 
manian statesmen strongly opposed to each other. 
The former was pro-neutral and the latter pro-ally. 
Marghiloman, who at this time was President of the 
Council of Ministers in Roumania, felt very strongly 
that Roumania should remain very strictly neutral; 
not the neutrality conceived by Bratiano but a neu- 
trality which could be respected by every one. He 
said that Roumania could not possibly digest Tran- 
sylvania and that there was danger of Roumania 
becoming part of Transylvania. Out of Transylva- 
nia would arise in his opinion two problems, the 
Agrarian and the Jewish, the solving of which would 
prove most difficult in the future. He added that 
Roumania was not prepared for a great war and he 
had no confidence in the assistance to be received 
from Russia. If Roumania were not to receive such 
help from Russia she would be bound to lose a war 
fought under circumstances which would prove dis- 
astrous. 

Philippesco disagreed with Bratiano 's policy for 
two reasons. The first reason was that he disliked 
the double dealing of Bratiano. Being a very frank 
man himself he wanted to deal openly with the Al- 
lies, not play on two sides ; a game he deemed dan- 
gerous. The second reason was that he feared Bra- 
tiano was far too much obsessed by the territorial 



APPENDICES 321 

readjustments of a successful war and not suffi- 
ciently aware of the necessity of Russian help to 
gain such successes. In Philippesco 's eyes the help 
Roumania was to obtain from Russia was by far the 
most important question. He said to me : — 

*'I have been Minister of War and I know the real 
condition of the Roumanian army. We cannot win 
such a war without help from Russia of at least 
250,000 men, as I insisted when I was in Petrograd. 
Iliesco is a foolish man and flatters Bratiano. I am 
astonished that he should be Chief of General Staff 
at such a time as this." 

In consequence my opinion was that the Rouman- 
ians must defend the northern front, — the defiles 
of the Carpathians offering excellent positions, — 
with as small forces as possible and the chief cam- 
paign must be made against Bulgaria across the 
Danube in co-operation with the Allied forces at 
Saloniki and the Russian forces in Dobrudja. If 
the Roumanians insisted on a campaign in Tran- 
sylvania they would meet at once with the full 
strength of the Central Empires, which would be di- 
rected against them just at a moment when I knew 
well that the armies of General Brusiloff in Buko- 
wina and Galicia could not assist with a major of- 
fensive. I heard from an unimpeachable source that 
Bratiano believed that Bulgaria would not attack 
Roumania but would remain on the defensive. Bra- 
tiano agreed that the Bulgarians would not fight 



322 APPENDICES 

against the Eussians, but I know the mentality of 
the Bulgarians and I was certain they would take the 
offensive against the Roumanians and fight willingly 
against Russia. In consequence I was sure that the 
campaign as planned by General Iliesco would lead 
to disaster. Unfortunately this belief is already 
proving true. 

For the defence of the southern front only four 
divisions were allowed, and of these four, one line 
division, the ninth, was at Turtakai and the three 
others were only mobilized just before war was de- 
clared. Russia sent into the Dobrudja two and a 
half divisions, which were comprised chiefly of Ser- 
bian forces, which had taken refuge in Roumania 
after the advance of Mackensen on the north and 
Bulgaria on the east had cut them off from their 
own main armies. From Roumania they had been 
sent to Odessa and were there equipped by the Rus- 
sians. These forces were under the command of 
Lieutenant General Zaiontchkowsky and were not 
nearly strong enough. But Bratiano with extreme 
fatuity had declared that Roumania was sufficiently 
strong for all purposes. At the same time he asked 
Russia to supply him with half a million men. The 
Russian Government pointed out that if such large 
forces were supplied it was impossible for Roumania 
to acquire so much territory and that in consequence 
the treaty would have to be revised and the Banat 
at least restored to Serbia. Bratiano thereupon re- 



APPENDICES 323 

joined that Roumania was sufficiently strong. His 
one idea was to secure the territories he had set his 
heart upon. 

Moreover Bratiano declared over and over again 
that he was absolutely certain Bulgaria would re- 
main on the defensive and be unable to attack. He 
was strongly supported by the Russian Military At- 
tache at Bucharest, a colonel of the general staff by 
name Tatarinoff, who before he was appointed to 
Bucharest had been Military Attache at Sofia and in 
consequence must have been fully informed as to the 
forces and military intentions of Bulgaria. 

The result of these blunders was very soon ap- 
parent. Two days after war was declared, Bulga- 
rian, Turkish and German forces under Mackensen 
attacked the ninth division at Turtukai and anni- 
hilated it. Thus in two days Roumania lost twenty 
thousand men of the best troops on the Dobrudja 
front. 

After this victory Mackensen rapidly marched 
against Zaiontchkowsky who was thus placed in a 
very difficult position. The Roumanian division 
which was attached to his army was not of the best 
material despite the assurances of Colonel Tatari- 
noff to the contrary. Not only regiments but whole 
brigades broke and ran directly the Turkish shrapnel 
ranged them, thus exposing Zaiontchkowsky 's right 
wing and forcing him to change his front and retire. 
For confirmation of this it is only necessary to re- 



324 APPENDICES 

fer to Zaiontclikowsky 's report to the Eussian gen- 
eral staff. 

I cannot prophesy as to the future but at this mo- 
ment it is plain that the whole responsibility now 
rests on Eussia, and in Bucharest people are al- 
ready crying that they have been betrayed by Eus- 
sia, knowing of course nothing of our military con- 
vention concluded with Bratiano. 

Yesterday I had an interview with Colonel Ta- 
tarinoff and I cannot hide my astonishment of the 
manner in which he spoke. He stated that it was 
necessary for Eoumania to start the war and ** thank 
God it had been accomplished." Hitherto he had 
stated that two and a half divisions from Eussia 
would be enough and yet now he stated to me that 
Bulgaria had a first class army of 550,000 men and 
Eoumania could do nothing against such an army. 
He said that to ensure the defeat of Bulgaria it 
would be necessary to obtain from Eussia an army 
of 500,000 men at least and no such army under 
present conditions was available. Therefore it will 
be necessary to make a small local attack and at the 
first success propose terms of peace to Bulgaria. 
But he added that at the same time it would be pos- 
sible to dethrone Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria. 
When I replied to him that such things were quite 
impossible because of our arrangements with both 
Serbia and Eoumania he replied that he was very 
sorry but he saw no other way out of the muddle. 



APPENDICES 325 

Meanwhile our minister Poklewsky appeared very 
well satisfied with the way things were going, al- 
though his whole conception of the situation was 
dictated by Bratiano. For example when I pointed 
out to Poklewsky that the Eoumanian government 
was not living up to our agreement (which included 
the provisioning of our troops, the proper supplies 
for the Red Cross and adequate transportation . . . 
we had been promised twelve trains a day and only 
two had materialized), and suggested that if the 
Roumanian government could not live up to its 
agreement the military and political agreements 
might be changed to our mutual advantage, he re- 
plied : 

' ' I am very sorry. The convention was signed not 
only by Russia but by Britain, France and Italy and 
is obligatory upon the Allies and we cannot place 
Bratiano in a difficult position by suggesting such 
changes now as might affect his political position 
with the Roumanian people and thus destroy con- 
fidence." 

It is thus plain that the Allies had concluded it 
was absolutely necessary to support Bratiano at all 
costs. 

At this time Bratiano completely lost his head. 
The former French minister. Monsieur Blondel, 
whose daughter was married to the Roumanian gov- 
ernor of Silistria and who lived in Bucharest, told 
me that Bratiano had entirely lost his self-confidence. 



326 APPENDICES 

In conversation with him Bratiano had declared that 
the Allies had persuaded him against his better 
judgment to enter the war and that therefore they 
were to blame for the situation. Monsieur Blondel 
replied that this was by no means the case. The 
Allies had never pushed matters but had allowed 
Roumania to choose her own time and had concluded 
with Bratiano himself all the arrangements he had 
desired and had been assured by him that the Rou- 
manian army was fully prepared to carry out the 
conventions and was in a very strong position. 

Fearing the criticism of the opposition Bratiano 
attempted to form a coalition government and of- 
fered to take into the cabinet M. Take lonescu, Mi- 
chel Cantacuzene and Stelian, but refused to give 
them any responsible portfolios, and in consequence 
these statesmen refused to enter the government. 
The question of the change of government was 
placed before the Chamber of Deputies during the 
next two weeks. 

To summarize : 

1. Our political understanding with Roumania 
gave too much to the Danubian Kingdom and we re- 
ceived from Bratiano far too little support and this 
political understanding was not in the interests of 
the Roumanians themselves ... (as for instance 
the question of Torandel). 

2. The military convention was based on a false 



APPENDICES 327 

principle in not making the main front to the south 
but to the north on the Transylvania front. At this 
moment this assertion is proved by the fact that 
the convention is being automatically changed. The 
Roumanians are sending troops from the northern 
front to Dobrudja and we have to reinforce this 
front also. 

3. The Allies had not taken into proper considera- 
tion the military strength of Bulgaria nor its stra- 
tegic plans. Bulgaria was more or less ignored and 
the blame for this state of affairs must be placed on 
the shoulders of the Eussian attache at Bucharest, 
Colonel Tatarinoff. 

The right thing to do was for the Allies to dis- 
patch large Russian forces through the Dobrudja 
towards Sofia and co-operate with General Sarrail at 
Saloniki. By this means the Allies would have been 
able to handle the Grecian situation, dethrone King 
Constantine and joining forces with the Russians 
and Greeks have crushed Bulgaria and eliminated 
her from the war. 

If this cannot be done it is possible to support Rou- 
mania for a considerable period but eventually dis- 
aster is assured and Roumania will be totally de- 
feated. 

Editor's Note: At the time this report was presented the Rou- 
manians appeared to be victorious in Transylvania and had not yet 
been defeated beyond the Rothen Thurm pass and driven back into 
Roumania by von Falkenhayn. 

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